Threat reportVulnerabilityTL-2026-2060
Apple Patches ImageIO Integer Overflow (CVE-2026-65346) Exploitable via Malicious Images
Apple Patches ImageIO Integer Overflow (CVE-2026-65346) (TL-2026-2060) is a high-severity software vulnerability scored CVSS 8.8, first published 2026-08-18. It has no confirmed attribution, affects Apple iOS, references 1 CVE (CVE-2026-65346), maps to 11 MITRE ATT&CK techniques (T1005, T1036, T1123), and is covered by 9 detection rules and 13 indicators of compromise.
- CVSS
- 8.8/10High
- CVEs
- 1Referenced vulnerabilities
- Techniques
- 11MITRE ATT&CK
- Actors
- 0Not attributed
- Detection rules
- 9SPL · KQL · Sigma
- IOCs
- 13Indicators of compromise
Key facts for TL-2026-2060
- Threat ID
- TL-2026-2060
- Severity
- HIGH
- CVSS
- 8.8 (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H)
- Status
- PATCHED
- Category
- VULNERABILITY
- First published
- Last reviewed
- Attribution confidence
- LOW
- Motivation
- UNKNOWN
- Target sectors
- government administration, executive-leadership, civil society, journalism, enterprise
- Target regions
- Global
- Detection rules
- 9
- Indicators of compromise
- 13
Malware and tooling in Apple Patches ImageIO Integer Overflow (CVE-2026-65346)
Malware and tooling: Chrysaor, TriangleDB - S1216
How Apple Patches ImageIO Integer Overflow (CVE-2026-65346) works
Apple fixed CVE-2026-65346, an integer-overflow flaw (CWE-190, CVSS 3.1 8.8) in its ImageIO image-decoding framework that can lead to arbitrary code execution when a device processes a maliciously crafted image. Reported by Nik Tsytsarkin of Meta's Red Team X and patched in iOS 26.6.1, iOS/iPadOS 18.7.10, macOS Tahoe 26.6.2, and visionOS 26.6.1, with no confirmed in-the-wild exploitation but a documented history of ImageIO-class bugs being weaponized as zero-click spyware delivery vectors.
CVE-2026-65346 is an integer-overflow vulnerability in ImageIO, the low-level Apple framework that every first-party and third-party app on iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and visionOS uses to decode image formats such as JPEG, PNG, GIF, HEIC, and TIFF. Apple's advisory states the issue "was addressed with improved input validation" and that "processing an image may lead to arbitrary code execution." NVD assigns CWE-190 (Integer Overflow or Wraparound) and a CVSS 3.1 base score of 8.8 (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H) — network-reachable, low attack complexity, no privileges required, but user interaction required (the target must view or otherwise cause the device to process the malicious image). The bug was reported by Nik Tsytsarkin of Meta's internal offensive-security team, Red Team X, and fixed on 2026-08-18 in iOS 26.6.1 and iPadOS 26.6.1 (iPhone 11 and later; supported iPad Pro/Air/iPad/mini models), macOS Tahoe 26.6.2, visionOS 26.6.1, and — for legacy hardware (iPhone XS, XS Max, XR) — iOS 18.7.10 and iPadOS 18.7.10.
Apple's own advisories give no indication the bug has been exploited in the wild, and no public proof-of-concept exists. However, The Register and Forbes both frame the flaw as a standout fix precisely because of ImageIO's exploitation history: Jamf senior enterprise strategy manager Adam Boynton is quoted noting that "image parsing flaws have historically been the delivery mechanism for zero-click spyware targeting executives." The two documented precedents cited are FORCEDENTRY (CVE-2021-30860), a CoreGraphics/PDF integer-overflow chain NSO Group used to deliver Pegasus spyware via iMessage with zero clicks, and Operation Triangulation (MITRE ATT&CK Campaign C0054), a 2023-disclosed iMessage zero-click campaign that abused ImageIO's format-sniffing behavior — ImageIO ignores file extensions and guesses the true format from content, so a maliciously-crafted file disguised as a GIF ('fake gif' trick) can reach any of 20+ obscure image codecs — to deploy the TriangleDB implant (microphone recording, iCloud Keychain extraction, SQLite data theft via targeted searches of app-container files and directories, GPS/network-based location estimation), a purely memory-resident implant with no on-disk persistence. Reaching TriangleDB required chaining the initial ImageIO/font-parsing memory-corruption bug with a separate privilege-escalation step that abused an undocumented hardware MMIO feature — described in Kaspersky's "last (hardware) mystery" research — to defeat the kernel's hardware-based memory protections before the implant could execute with elevated privileges.
CVE-2026-65346 differs from both precedents in one material respect: its CVSS vector requires user interaction (UI:R), unlike the zero-click, no-interaction delivery FORCEDENTRY and Triangulation achieved — though Jamf's Boynton cautioned this distinction is thin in practice, noting attackers exploiting this bug class "don't need you to install anything ... only to receive an image." No threat actor or campaign has been attributed to CVE-2026-65346 itself, and Apple has not flagged it as actively exploited or added it to CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog. (Operation Triangulation's own attribution remains disputed: Russia's FSB publicly claimed the campaign was NSA-conducted, a claim Kaspersky's independent technical research neither confirms nor attributes to any named actor.) The same iOS 26.6.1 update also patches CVE-2026-65329 (a separate Telephony/IPSec authentication-bypass flaw) and roughly twenty WebKit and three kernel issues, and iOS 18.7.10 separately patches a second, distinct ImageIO code-execution bug (CVE-2026-43818) and a kernel-privileged AVEVideoEncoder buffer overflow (CVE-2026-64747) — none of which are in scope for this record.
MITRE ATT&CK techniques used in TL-2026-2060
Collection
T1005 Data from Local System; T1123 Audio Capture; T1430 Location Tracking
Defense Evasion
Execution
T1203 Exploitation for Client Execution; T1204.002 User Execution: Malicious File
Privilege Escalation
T1404 Exploitation for Privilege Escalation
Discovery
T1420 File and Directory Discovery
Credential Access
T1555.001 Credentials from Password Stores: Keychain
Initial Access
T1566.001 Phishing: Spearphishing Attachment
Resource Development
Affected products and versions in Apple Patches ImageIO Integer Overflow (CVE-2026-65346)
- Apple — iOS
Vulnerable versions: iOS < 26.6.1 (iPhone 11 and later); iOS < 18.7.10 (iPhone XS, XS Max, XR)
Fixed in: iOS 26.6.1; iOS 18.7.10 - Apple — iPadOS
Vulnerable versions: iPadOS < 26.6.1 (supported iPad Pro, iPad Air, iPad, iPad mini models); iPadOS < 18.7.10 (legacy supported models)
Fixed in: iPadOS 26.6.1; iPadOS 18.7.10 - Apple — macOS Tahoe
Vulnerable versions: macOS Tahoe < 26.6.2
Fixed in: macOS Tahoe 26.6.2 - Apple — visionOS
Vulnerable versions: visionOS < 26.6.1
Fixed in: visionOS 26.6.1
Remediation for Apple Patches ImageIO Integer Overflow (CVE-2026-65346)
Patches
- iOS 26.6.1
- iPadOS 26.6.1
- iOS 18.7.10
- iPadOS 18.7.10
- macOS Tahoe 26.6.2
- visionOS 26.6.1
Immediate actions
- Update iPhone 11 and later to iOS 26.6.1
- Update supported iPad Pro/Air/iPad/mini models to iPadOS 26.6.1
- Update legacy iPhone XS, XS Max, and XR to iOS 18.7.10
- Update legacy supported iPads to iPadOS 18.7.10
- Update macOS Tahoe systems to 26.6.2
- Update Apple Vision Pro to visionOS 26.6.1
Workarounds
- Avoid opening image attachments or links from unknown or unsolicited senders until the device is updated
Longer-term hardening
- Enable Apple's Lockdown Mode on devices belonging to individuals at elevated risk of mercenary-spyware targeting (executives, journalists, activists, government officials), given ImageIO's repeated history as a zero-click delivery vector
- Track future Apple security advisories for additional ImageIO CVEs; the framework's extension-agnostic format-sniffing has been the common thread across FORCEDENTRY, Operation Triangulation, and this bug
CVEs associated with Apple Patches ImageIO Integer Overflow (CVE-2026-65346)
Weaknesses (CWE) in Apple Patches ImageIO Integer Overflow (CVE-2026-65346)
Timeline of Apple Patches ImageIO Integer Overflow (CVE-2026-65346)
- Apple patches CVE-2021-30860 (FORCEDENTRY), a CoreGraphics/PDF integer-overflow chain NSO Group used to deliver Pegasus spyware via a zero-click iMessage attack — the first widely documented image/document-parsing precedent for this vulnerability class.
- Kaspersky publicly discloses Operation Triangulation (MITRE ATT&CK Campaign C0054), a zero-click iMessage spyware campaign that abused ImageIO's extension-agnostic format-sniffing to deploy the memory-resident TriangleDB implant.
- Kaspersky's Securelist publishes final Operation Triangulation research detailing the undocumented hardware feature exploited alongside the ImageIO/font-parsing chain.
- CVE-2026-65346 is reserved in the CVE database.
- CVE-2026-65346 is published to NVD/CVE.org with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 8.8 and CWE-190 classification.
- Forbes publishes an 'update now' warning quoting Jamf's Adam Boynton on the historical link between image-parsing flaws and zero-click spyware delivery to executives.
- The Register publishes coverage framing the ImageIO fix as a standout patch given the historical use of similar bugs to deliver Pegasus and Operation Triangulation spyware.
- Apple releases iOS 26.6.1, iPadOS 26.6.1, macOS Tahoe 26.6.2, visionOS 26.6.1, and (for legacy iPhone XS/XS Max/XR and older iPads) iOS 18.7.10 and iPadOS 18.7.10, fixing CVE-2026-65346 via improved ImageIO input validation.
Sources cited for Apple Patches ImageIO Integer Overflow (CVE-2026-65346)
- Apple plugs image-processing hole ripe for spyware abuse
- iOS 26.6.1 And iOS 18.7.10—Update Now Warning For All iPhone Users
- About the security content of iOS 26.6.1 and iPadOS 26.6.1
- About the security content of macOS Tahoe 26.6.2
- CVE-2026-65346 Detail
- Home | Meta Red Team X
- iOS Zero-Day Attacks: Experts Uncover Deeper Insights into Operation Triangulation
- New Report Exposes Operation Triangulation's Spyware Implant Targeting iOS Devices
- Operation Triangulation: The last (hardware) mystery
- Operation Triangulation, Campaign C0054
Detection coverage for TL-2026-2060
As of 2026-08-18, Threadlinqs Intelligence publishes 9 detection rule(s) for TL-2026-2060 across Splunk SPL, Microsoft KQL and Sigma, covering 13 indicator(s) of compromise. The whole corpus is readable without an account; a free account unlocks full detection query text in Splunk SPL, Microsoft KQL and Sigma; paid tiers add raw indicator values, correlation and the MCP server. Threadlinqs MCP server · View plans.