Cyber Resilience

CVE-2026-20616

Memory Safety in Apple Macos 14.0 – 14.8.4

Memory Safety
Published
11 February 2026
Modified
02 April 2026
Patch / advisory
View advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 8.8
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.0054 43th percentile
Risk Priority 64 floored blend · peak EPSS

CVSS and EPSS are reproduced from their sources (NVD, FIRST EPSS). Risk Priority is our own derived reading, not an NVD score.

Summary

CVE-2026-20616 is a high-severity Out-of-bounds Write (CWE-787) vulnerability in Apple Macos. Its CVSS base score is 8.8 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploitation for Privilege Escalation (T1068); ranked at the 43th 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-15 (Development Process, Standards, and Tools) — 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-2026-20616 is an out-of-bounds write vulnerability (CWE-787) that was addressed through improved bounds checking. It affects Apple's iOS prior to version 18.7.5, iPadOS prior to 18.7.5, macOS Sonoma prior to 14.8.4, macOS Tahoe prior to 26.3, and visionOS prior to 26.3. The issue arises when processing a maliciously crafted USD (Universal Scene Description) file, which may lead to unexpected application termination.

The vulnerability has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 8.8 (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H), indicating network accessibility, low attack complexity, no required privileges, and user interaction. A remote, unauthenticated attacker can exploit it by tricking a user into processing a specially crafted USD file, potentially achieving high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impacts.

Apple security advisories detail the patches released in iOS 18.7.5, iPadOS 18.7.5, macOS Sonoma 14.8.4, macOS Tahoe 26.3, and visionOS 26.3. Additional mitigation guidance and technical details are available in Apple's support pages (https://support.apple.com/en-us/126347, https://support.apple.com/en-us/126348, https://support.apple.com/en-us/126350, https://support.apple.com/en-us/126353) and Zero Day Initiative advisory ZDI-26-176 (https://www.zerodayinitiative.com/advisories/ZDI-26-176/).

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

An out-of-bounds write issue was addressed with improved bounds checking. This issue is fixed in iOS 18.7.5 and iPadOS 18.7.5, macOS Sonoma 14.8.4, macOS Tahoe 26.3, visionOS 26.3. Processing a maliciously crafted USD file may lead to unexpected app termination.

CWE(s)
CWE-787

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1068 Exploitation for Privilege Escalation Privilege Escalation
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in an attempt to elevate privileges.
attack.mitre.org →
T1190 Exploit Public-Facing Application Initial Access
Adversaries may attempt to exploit a weakness in an Internet-facing host or system to initially access a network.
attack.mitre.org →
T1203 Exploitation for Client Execution Execution
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in client applications to execute code.
attack.mitre.org →
T1210 Exploitation of Remote Services Lateral Movement
Adversaries may exploit remote services to gain unauthorized access to internal systems once inside of a network.
attack.mitre.org →
T1211 Exploitation for Stealth Stealth
Adversaries may exploit vulnerabilities to evade detection by hiding activity, suppressing logging, or operating within trusted or unmonitored components.
attack.mitre.org →
T1212 Exploitation for Credential Access Credential Access
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in an attempt to collect credentials.
attack.mitre.org →
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2025-24257Same product: Apple Ipados
CVE-2024-27836Same product: Apple Ipados
CVE-2024-44126Same product: Apple Ipados
CVE-2024-44245Same product: Apple Ipados
CVE-2023-32366Same product: Apple Ipados
CVE-2023-42869Same product: Apple Ipados
CVE-2021-30900Same product: Apple Ipados
CVE-2023-27936Same product: Apple Ipados
CVE-2024-23214Same product: Apple Ipados
CVE-2023-28206Same product: Apple Ipados

Affected Assets

apple
ipados
≤ 18.7.5
apple
iphone os
≤ 18.7.5
apple
macos
14.0 — 14.8.4 · 26.0 — 26.3
apple
visionos
≤ 26.3

Mitigating Controls

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

SA-11 Developer Testing and Evaluation good match

Developer testing and evaluation (including fuzzing and bounds checks) finds out-of-bounds write flaws before deployment.

SA-15 Development Process, Standards, and Tools partial match

Requiring documented secure-development standards and tools can mandate bounds-checked coding practices that avoid the weakness.

SI-10 Information Input Validation partial match

Input validation can structurally reject or sanitize data that would otherwise trigger an out-of-bounds write.

SI-16 Memory Protection partial match

Memory-protection mechanisms limit the exploitability and blast radius of a successful out-of-bounds write.

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.

PR.PS-06 mostly match
prevents

Secure-development practices (static analysis, bounds checking, code review) are the primary means of preventing out-of-bounds writes.

ID.RA-01 partial match
prevents

Vulnerability scanning and recording can discover out-of-bounds write flaws so they can be remediated.

PR.PS-02 partial match
prevents

Patching or replacing vulnerable software directly eliminates known instances of this coding weakness.

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.

A.8.29 Security testing in development and acceptance mostly match
finds

Security testing in development and acceptance can detect and prevent out-of-bounds write defects.

A.8.25 Secure development life cycle partial match
prevents

Secure development life cycle mandates practices that prevent out-of-bounds writes.

A.8.26 Application security requirements partial match
prevents

Application security requirements can specify bounds-checking and safe memory handling.

A.8.27 Secure system architecture and engineering principles partial match
prevents

Secure architecture and engineering principles reduce the likelihood of buffer overflows.

A.8.28 Secure coding partial match
prevents

Secure coding directly addresses out-of-bounds writes through language choice and coding standards.

A.8.32 Change management partial match
prevents

Change management can enforce review gates that catch unsafe memory operations before deployment.

References