Raw vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:HCVSS and EPSS are reproduced from their sources (NVD, FIRST EPSS). Risk Priority is our own derived reading, not an NVD score.
Summary
CVE-2026-20611 is a high-severity Out-of-bounds Read (CWE-125) vulnerability in Apple Macos. Its CVSS base score is 7.8 (High).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploitation for Privilege Escalation (T1068); ranked at the 17th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to SA-11 (Developer Testing and Evaluation) and SA-8 (Security and Privacy Engineering Principles) — see the control section below for these in your framework.
Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary
Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.
CVE-2026-20611 is an out-of-bounds access vulnerability, corresponding to CWE-125, that was addressed through improved bounds checking in multiple Apple operating systems. It affects iOS and iPadOS prior to versions 18.7.5 and 26.3, macOS Sequoia prior to 15.7.4, macOS Sonoma prior to 14.8.4, macOS Tahoe prior to 26.3, tvOS prior to 26.3, visionOS prior to 26.3, and watchOS prior to 26.3. The issue arises during the processing of media files and has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.8 (AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H), indicating high severity due to potential impacts on confidentiality, integrity, and availability.
An attacker with local access can exploit this vulnerability by tricking a user into processing a maliciously crafted media file, requiring user interaction but no special privileges. Successful exploitation may result in unexpected application termination or corruption of process memory, enabling high-impact effects such as arbitrary code execution or denial of service within the affected process scope.
Apple security advisories, detailed in support documents such as https://support.apple.com/en-us/126346 through https://support.apple.com/en-us/126350, confirm the vulnerability was fixed in the specified versions of iOS, iPadOS, macOS, tvOS, visionOS, and watchOS. Mitigation requires updating affected devices to these patched releases to apply the improved bounds checking.
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2026-6196
Vulnerability Data
An out-of-bounds access issue was addressed with improved bounds checking. 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, tvOS 26.3, visionOS 26.3, watchOS 26.3.…
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Processing a maliciously crafted media file may lead to unexpected app termination or corrupt process memory.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
Developer testing and evaluation directly finds out-of-bounds read flaws through static analysis, fuzzing, and dynamic bounds checks.
Secure engineering principles require bounds checking and memory-safe constructs that stop out-of-bounds reads from being introduced.
Process isolation confines the effects of an out-of-bounds read to the compromised process.
Input validation rejects malformed indices or lengths that would otherwise cause reads outside buffer bounds.
Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI
Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.
Secure-development practices such as bounds checking and memory-safe languages directly prevent out-of-bounds reads.
Vulnerability scanning and recording can discover instances of out-of-bounds reads after code is deployed.
Routine patching replaces vulnerable code containing out-of-bounds read flaws.
Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI
Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.
Security testing in development and acceptance includes fuzzing and static analysis that detect out-of-bounds read defects before release.
Logging can record evidence of an out-of-bounds read but does not prevent the weakness itself.
Secure development life cycle mandates input validation and bounds checking that directly prevent out-of-bounds reads.
Application security requirements include explicit bounds and memory-safety specifications that mitigate buffer over-reads.
Secure system architecture and engineering principles require memory-safe design patterns and runtime protections against out-of-bounds access.
Secure coding standards explicitly forbid unsafe pointer arithmetic and mandate bounds-checked reads, eliminating CWE-125.