CVE-2026-28950
A logging flaw in Notification Services that let notifications marked for deletion stay on the device, so message previews could be recovered by forensic tools after an app was deleted.
Update your iPhone and iPad to iOS or iPadOS 26.4.2 (or 18.7.8 if you are on iOS 18) in Settings > General > Software Update. In Signal, set notifications to show no name or message content, and consider hiding previews on the Lock Screen for other messaging apps.
- Affects
- Apple iPhone and iPad (iOS and iPadOS 26 and 18) notification storage
- Severity
- Medium
- Fixed in
- iOS 26.4.2
iPadOS 26.4.2
iOS 18.7.8
iPadOS 18.7.8 - Being used in attacks
- Not known to be
- Made public
- 9 Apr 2026
Part of: iPhone notification storage kept deleted Signal messages; Apple fixes CVE-2026-28950 in iOS 26.4.2
In April 2026, 404 Media reported that the FBI recovered the text of incoming Signal messages from a defendant's iPhone even though the Signal app had been deleted. The copies sat in the iPhone's push notification database, not in Signal's own encrypted storage, so they survived deletion of the app. The case involved an alleged attack on the Prairieland ICE detention facility in Texas. On 22 April 2026 Apple released iOS 26.4.2 and iPadOS 26.4.2, fixing CVE-2026-28950 in Notification Services, where notifications marked for deletion could be retained on the device. Apple described it as a logging issue fixed by better data redaction. BleepingComputer reports the fix also covers iOS 18.7.8 and iPadOS 18.7.8. Apple's advisory does not mention the FBI case, and Apple has not confirmed a link. The issue is not specific to Signal: any app that shows message previews in notifications could be affected. Signal has said it is grateful to Apple for the quick action. No reports of criminal use of this flaw have been published. Messages already retained before the update are the part reporting does not clearly settle.
Sources
- About the security content of iOS 26.4.2 and iPadOS 26.4.2Apple · 22 Apr 2026
- FBI extracts suspect's deleted Signal messages saved in iPhone notification database404 Media · 9 Apr 2026
- FBI used iPhone notification data to retrieve deleted Signal messages9to5Mac · 9 Apr 2026
- Apple fixes iOS bug that retained deleted notification dataBleepingComputer · 22 Apr 2026