CVE-2026-20606
Published: 11 February 2026
Summary
CVE-2026-20606 is a high-severity Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor (CWE-200) vulnerability in Apple Macos. Its CVSS base score is 7.1 (High).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique TCC Manipulation (T1548.006); ranked at the 3.4th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
The strongest mitigations our analysis identified are NIST 800-53 AC-19 (Access Control for Mobile Devices) and AC-3 (Access Enforcement).
Deeper analysis
CVE-2026-20606 is a vulnerability that allows an app to bypass certain Privacy preferences on Apple devices. It affects iOS and iPadOS versions prior to 18.7.5 and 26.3, respectively, as well as macOS Sequoia prior to 15.7.4, macOS Sonoma prior to 14.8.4, and macOS Tahoe prior to 26.3. The issue stems from exposure of sensitive information to an unauthorized actor (CWE-200) and carries a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.1 (High), with vector AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N.
A local attacker with low-complexity access and no privileges can exploit this vulnerability by tricking a user into interacting with a malicious app, such as through installation or execution. Successful exploitation enables high-impact confidentiality and integrity violations, allowing the app to circumvent Privacy preferences and potentially access or manipulate sensitive user data without authorization, though availability remains unaffected.
Apple security advisories indicate that the vulnerability was addressed by removing the vulnerable code. The issue is fixed in iOS 18.7.5 and iPadOS 18.7.5, iOS 26.3 and iPadOS 26.3, macOS Sequoia 15.7.4, macOS Sonoma 14.8.4, and macOS Tahoe 26.3. Practitioners should ensure devices are updated to these versions and advise users to avoid installing untrusted apps. Additional details are available in Apple support documents at https://support.apple.com/en-us/126346, https://support.apple.com/en-us/126347, https://support.apple.com/en-us/126348, https://support.apple.com/en-us/126349, and https://support.apple.com/en-us/126350.
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2026-7017
Vulnerability details
This issue was addressed by removing the vulnerable code. This issue is fixed in iOS 18.7.5 and iPadOS 18.7.5, iOS 26.3 and iPadOS 26.3, macOS Sequoia 15.7.4, macOS Sonoma 14.8.4, macOS Tahoe 26.3. An app may be able to bypass…
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certain Privacy preferences.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise TechniquesAI
Why these techniques?
Directly enables TCC/privacy preference bypass on Apple platforms via malicious app, matching T1548.006.
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
Directly enforces privacy preference policies that the CVE allows apps to bypass, blocking unauthorized access to sensitive data.
Implements access control restrictions on mobile devices (iOS/iPadOS/macOS) to prevent apps from circumventing privacy settings.
Requires timely application of vendor patches that remove the vulnerable code enabling privacy bypass.