CVE-2026-20626

Analyzed Analyzed - Analysis Complete

Privilege Escalation in Apple OSes via Insufficient Validation

Publication date: 2026-02-11

Last updated on: 2026-04-02

Assigner: Apple Inc.

Description

This issue was addressed with improved checks. This issue is fixed in iOS 26.3 and iPadOS 26.3, macOS Sequoia 15.7.4, macOS Tahoe 26.3, visionOS 26.3. A malicious app may be able to gain root privileges.

CVSS Scores

EPSS Scores

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Meta Information

Published

2026-02-11

Last Modified

2026-04-02

Generated

2026-07-06

AI Q&A

2026-02-12

EPSS Evaluated

2026-07-05

NVD

CVE-2026-20626

EUVD

EUVD-2026-6185

Affected Vendors & Products

Vendor	Product	Version / Range
apple	ipados	to 26.3 (exc)
apple	iphone_os	to 26.3 (exc)
apple	visionos	to 26.3 (exc)
apple	macos	From 15.0 (inc) to 15.7.4 (exc)
apple	macos	From 26.0 (inc) to 26.3 (exc)

Helpful Resources

Exploitability

CWE

KEV

CWE ID	Description
CWE-862	The product does not perform an authorization check when an actor attempts to access a resource or perform an action.

Attack-Flow Graph

Executive Summary

This vulnerability involves a security issue in certain Apple operating systems where a malicious app may be able to gain root privileges due to insufficient checks.

The issue was addressed by improving these checks and fixed in macOS Sequoia 15.7.4, iOS 26.3, iPadOS 26.3, macOS Tahoe 26.3, and visionOS 26.3.

Impact Analysis

If exploited, this vulnerability could allow a malicious app to gain root privileges on affected Apple devices.

Gaining root privileges means the attacker could have full control over the device, potentially leading to unauthorized access to sensitive data, system modifications, and other malicious activities.

Mitigation Strategies

To mitigate this vulnerability, update your Apple devices to the fixed versions: macOS Sequoia 15.7.4, iOS 26.3, iPadOS 26.3, macOS Tahoe 26.3, or visionOS 26.3.

These updates include improved checks that prevent a malicious app from gaining root privileges.

Compliance Impact

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Detection Guidance

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