Raw vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:NSummary
CVE-2026-20660 is a high-severity Path Traversal (CWE-22) vulnerability in Apple Ipados. Its CVSS base score is 7.5 (High).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploit Public-Facing Application (T1190); ranked in the top 47% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to AC-3 (Access Enforcement) and SI-10 (Information Input Validation) — 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-2026-20660 is a path handling vulnerability, classified under CWE-22 (Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory), that enables a remote user to write arbitrary files. It affects Apple's Safari browser and operating systems including iOS and iPadOS prior to versions 18.7.5 and 26.3, macOS Sequoia prior to 15.7.5, macOS Sonoma prior to 14.8.4, macOS Tahoe prior to 26.3, and visionOS prior to 26.3. The issue was addressed through improved logic in the affected components, with a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.5 (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N), indicating high integrity impact without confidentiality or availability effects.
A remote attacker can exploit this vulnerability over the network with low complexity, requiring no privileges, authentication, or user interaction. Successful exploitation allows the attacker to write arbitrary files on the targeted system, potentially leading to persistent access, data tampering, or further compromise depending on the write locations and privileges.
Apple's security advisories detail the fixes in the specified versions and recommend updating to the patched releases for mitigation. Relevant updates are documented 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/126350, and https://support.apple.com/en-us/126353.
OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2026-5921
Vulnerability Data
A path handling issue was addressed with improved logic. 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 Sequoia 15.7.5, macOS Sonoma 14.8.4, macOS Tahoe 26.3, visionOS 26.3. A remote user…
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may be able to write arbitrary files.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Control response
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V5.3.2
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
Enforces the intended directory access authorizations that path traversal would otherwise bypass.
Input validation directly neutralizes special path elements before pathname construction occurs.
Least privilege reduces the impact of any unauthorized file access obtained via traversal.
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.
Patching/maintenance can remediate known path-traversal flaws in deployed software (partial prevention of exploitability) but does nothing to stop the coding defect from being introduced in the first place.
PR.AA-05 defines and reviews access policies but does not address code-level pathname neutralization, so neither direction prevents CWE-22.
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 catches path traversal via static/dynamic analysis.
Secure SDLC mandates input validation and path sanitization that directly prevent path traversal.
Application security requirements include rules for safe file handling and canonicalization.
Secure architecture principles require least-privilege file access and directory isolation.
Secure coding standards explicitly forbid unsafe path construction and mandate safe APIs.
Information access restriction limits which files an application may read or write.