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Hundreds of Millions of iPhones Can Be Hacked With a New Tool Found in the Wild

wired.com

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Re: Hundreds of Millions of iPhones Can Be Hacked With a New Tool Found in the Wild

#3

I got an alert this morning for an iOS update numbered 26.3.1(a). (a)? This must be really bad .

Impact: Processing maliciously crafted web content may bypass Same Origin Policy

Description: A cross-origin issue in the Navigation API was addressed with improved input validation.

WebKit Bugzilla: 306050

CVE-2026-20643: Thomas Espach

Re: Hundreds of Millions of iPhones Can Be Hacked With a New Tool Found in the Wild

#4

I got an alert this morning for an iOS update numbered 26.3.1(a). (a)? This must be really bad .

> It can take over devices running iOS 18 that simply visit infected websites.

I wonder if this is supposed to be > iOS 18 or really just version 18?

Re: Hundreds of Millions of iPhones Can Be Hacked With a New Tool Found in the Wild

#5
Here is the Google Research group's writeup

https://cloud.google.com/blog/topics/threat-intelligence/dar...

Relevant forward:

> GTIG has identified several different users of the DarkSword exploit chain dating back to November 2025. In addition to the case studies on DarkSword usage documented in this blog post, we assess it is likely that other commercial surveillance vendors or threat actors may also be using DarkSword.

> Google Threat Intelligence Group (GTIG) has identified a new iOS full-chain exploit that leveraged multiple zero-day vulnerabilities to fully compromise devices. Based on toolmarks in recovered payloads, we believe the exploit chain to be called DarkSword. Since at least November 2025, GTIG has observed multiple commercial surveillance vendors and suspected state-sponsored actors utilizing DarkSword in distinct campaigns. These threat actors have deployed the exploit chain against targets in Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Malaysia, and Ukraine.

> DarkSword supports iOS versions 18.4 through 18.7 and utilizes six different vulnerabilities to deploy final-stage payloads. GTIG has identified three distinct malware families deployed following a successful DarkSword compromise: GHOSTBLADE, GHOSTKNIFE, and GHOSTSABER. The proliferation of this single exploit chain across disparate threat actors mirrors the previously discovered Coruna iOS exploit kit. Notably, UNC6353, a suspected Russian espionage group previously observed using Coruna, has recently incorporated DarkSword into their watering hole campaigns.

Re: Hundreds of Millions of iPhones Can Be Hacked With a New Tool Found in the Wild

#6
The interesting angle here is what this means for passes and credentials stored in Apple Wallet. If device compromise is this accessible, the assumption that Wallet passes are isolated from the rest of the device needs more scrutiny. Apple's security model relies heavily on the secure enclave but a tool like this changes the threat surface significantly.

Re: Hundreds of Millions of iPhones Can Be Hacked With a New Tool Found in the Wild

#7
post #4

I got an alert this morning for an iOS update numbered 26.3.1(a). (a)? This must be really bad .

> It can take over devices running iOS 18 that simply visit infected websites. I wonder if this is supposed to be > iOS 18 or really just version 18?

It's in the source article (from Google Research group):

> DarkSword supports iOS versions 18.4 through 18.7

https://cloud.google.com/blog/topics/threat-intelligence/dar...

The source exploits continued to be patched with all of them patched in iOS 26.3

Re: Hundreds of Millions of iPhones Can Be Hacked With a New Tool Found in the Wild

#8
post #5

Here is the Google Research group's writeup https://cloud.google.com/blog/topics/threat-intelligence/dar... Relevant forward: > GTIG has identified several different users of the DarkSword exploit chain dating back to November 2025. In addition to the case studies on DarkSword usage documented in this blog post, we assess it is likely that other commercial surveillance vendors or threat actors may also be using DarkS…

This should be the post, not Wired's blogspam.

Re: Hundreds of Millions of iPhones Can Be Hacked With a New Tool Found in the Wild

#9
post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It can take over devices running iOS 18 that simply visit infected websites. I wonder if this is supposed to be > iOS 18 or really just version 18?

It's in the source article (from Google Research group): > DarkSword supports iOS versions 18.4 through 18.7 https://cloud.google.com/blog/topics/threat-intelligence/dar... The source exploits continued to be patched with all of them patched in iOS 26.3

Oh, I was confused why the article was so short and chalked it up to it being some developing story. Turns out there's a "You’ve read your last free article." heading that hides the rest but it's not very obvious that there's an article hiding.
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