CVE-2026-20652
Published: 11 February 2026
Summary
CVE-2026-20652 is a high-severity Uncontrolled Resource Consumption (CWE-400) vulnerability in Apple Ipados. Its CVSS base score is 7.5 (High).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Application or System Exploitation (T1499.004); ranked at the 49.1th 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 SC-5 (Denial-of-service Protection) and SC-6 (Resource Availability).
Deeper analysis
CVE-2026-20652 is a vulnerability stemming from inadequate memory handling in Apple software components. It affects Safari versions prior to 26.3, iOS and iPadOS prior to 18.7.5 and 26.3, macOS Tahoe prior to 26.3, and visionOS prior to 26.3. Classified under CWE-400 (Uncontrolled Resource Consumption), the flaw carries a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.5, reflecting high severity due to its potential for disruption.
A remote attacker can exploit this vulnerability over the network with low attack complexity, requiring no privileges, user interaction, or special setup. Successful exploitation results in a denial-of-service condition, disrupting availability (A:H) without impacting confidentiality or integrity.
Apple security advisories confirm the issue was resolved through enhanced memory handling in the listed fixed releases. Mitigation involves updating to Safari 26.3, iOS 18.7.5 or 26.3, iPadOS 18.7.5 or 26.3, macOS Tahoe 26.3, or visionOS 26.3, as detailed in support documents such as https://support.apple.com/en-us/126346 and related pages.
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2026-6705
Vulnerability details
The issue was addressed with improved memory handling. This issue is fixed in Safari 26.3, iOS 18.7.5 and iPadOS 18.7.5, iOS 26.3 and iPadOS 26.3, macOS Tahoe 26.3, visionOS 26.3. A remote attacker may be able to cause a denial-of-service.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise TechniquesAI
Why these techniques?
CWE-400 uncontrolled resource consumption in client software enables remote network exploitation causing application/system crash and DoS (A:H).
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
Directly protects against or limits the effects of denial-of-service events, such as the remote uncontrolled memory consumption attack in this CVE.
Implements controls to minimize the impact of memory handling flaws, directly addressing the inadequate memory management exploited for DoS in this vulnerability.
Safeguards the availability of system resources against exhaustion, mitigating the CWE-400 uncontrolled resource consumption caused by this CVE.