CVE-2026-20641VulnerabilityPublished 11 Feb 2026Updated 2 Apr 2026

CVE-2026-20641: Apple iOS and iPadOS · An app may be able to identify what other apps a user has installed

Affects Apple iOS and iPadOSSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 7.1 High : upgrade to 26.3 or 18.7.5 soon.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 06:26 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

7.1High

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

EPSS: 0.1% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 5% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch: Available – fixed in 26.3, 18.7.5, 15.7.4 +1

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N

Attack Vector: Local
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: Required
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality: High
Integrity: High
Availability: None

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Local: The vulnerable component is not bound to the network stack and the attacker’s path is via read/write/execute capabilities. Either: the attacker exploits the vulnerability by accessing the target system locally (e.g., keyboard, console), or remotely (e.g., SSH); or the attacker relies on User Interaction by another person to perform actions required to exploit the vulnerability (e.g., tricking a legitimate user into opening a malicious document).
Attack Complexity: Low: Specialized access conditions or extenuating circumstances do not exist. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable component.
Privileges Required: None: The attacker is unauthorized prior to attack, and therefore does not require any access to settings or files to carry out an attack.
User Interaction: Required: Successful exploitation of this vulnerability requires a user to take some action before the vulnerability can be exploited.
Scope: Unchanged: An exploited vulnerability can only affect resources managed by the same security authority. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are either the same, or both are managed by the same security authority.
Confidentiality: High: There is total loss of confidentiality, resulting in all resources within the impacted component being divulged to the attacker. Alternatively, access to only some restricted information is obtained, but the disclosed information presents a direct, serious impact.
Integrity: High: There is a total loss of integrity, or a complete loss of protection. For example, the attacker is able to modify any/all files protected by the impacted component. Alternatively, only some files can be modified, but malicious modification would present a direct, serious consequence to the impacted component.
Availability: None: There is no impact to availability within the impacted component.

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 11 Feb 2026
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 2026-10-26.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponised: Public exploit code exists in Metasploit or Exploit-DB, or CISA SSVC reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Upgrade iOS and iPadOS to 26.3 or 18.7.5; macOS to 26.3, 15.7.4 or 14.8.4; tvOS and visionOS and watchOS to 26.3.

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
AppleiOS and iPadOS	Affected <18.7.5 <26.3	Fixed in 26.3 18.7.5
ApplemacOS	Affected <14.8.4 <15.7.4 <26.3	Fixed in 26.3 15.7.4 14.8.4
AppletvOS	Affected <26.3	Fixed in 26.3
ApplevisionOS	Affected <26.3	Fixed in 26.3
ApplewatchOS	Affected <26.3	Fixed in 26.3

AI-suggested

To mitigate CVE-2026-20641, organizations and users should promptly apply the security updates released by Apple for all affected platforms, including iOS 18.7.5, iPadOS 18.7.5, macOS Sequoia 15.7.4, macOS Sonoma 14.8.4, macOS Tahoe 26.3, tvOS 26.3, visionOS 26.3, and watchOS 26.3. Beyond patching, organizations should enforce strict app vetting policies, limiting installation to trusted sources such as the Apple App Store and employing Mobile Device Management (MDM) solutions to control app deployment. User education is critical to reduce the risk of social engineering that could lead to installation of malicious apps. Monitoring app behavior for unusual access patterns or attempts to enumerate installed apps can provide early detection of exploitation attempts. Developers should follow Apple’s guidelines for app sandboxing and privacy to avoid similar issues. Finally, organizations should review privacy policies and consider the impact of app enumeration on compliance requirements, adjusting controls accordingly.

Description

A privacy issue was addressed with improved checks. 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. An app may be able to identify what other apps a user has installed.

Impact

The primary impact of CVE-2026-20641 is the unauthorized disclosure of sensitive information regarding installed applications on Apple devices. This can lead to privacy violations, as attackers may infer user interests, habits, or affiliations based on app presence. For organizations, this could expose the use of corporate or security-related apps, potentially aiding targeted phishing, social engineering, or espionage campaigns. The vulnerability does not allow direct control or disruption of device functionality but undermines confidentiality and integrity of user data. Given the widespread use of Apple devices globally, especially in enterprise and government sectors, the risk of profiling and targeted attacks is considerable. The requirement for user interaction limits automated exploitation but does not eliminate risk, as users can be socially engineered. The absence of known exploits in the wild suggests limited current exploitation but does not preclude future attacks. Overall, the vulnerability poses a significant privacy risk with potential downstream impacts on organizational security posture and user trust.

CWE-200Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor (opens in a new tab)
Class weaknessLikelihood of exploit: HighCWE Top 25 (2025): #20OWASP Top 10 A01:2025: Broken Access Control (opens in a new tab)
The product exposes sensitive information to an actor that is not explicitly authorized to have access to that information.
MITRE discourages mapping vulnerabilities to this broad entry; the root cause is usually a more specific weakness.
Architecture and Design · Separation of Privilege
Compartmentalize the system to have "safe" areas where trust boundaries can be unambiguously drawn. Do not allow sensitive data to go outside of the trust boundary and always be careful when interfacing with a compartment outside of the safe area.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
Error Handling (opens in a new tab)
Logging (opens in a new tab)
Authorization (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V8.3.4 (opens in a new tab)
V14.3.3 (opens in a new tab)
V7.3.3 (opens in a new tab)
Attack patterns
Subverting Environment Variable Values (opens in a new tab)
ICMP Echo Request Ping (opens in a new tab)
TCP SYN Scan (opens in a new tab)
Enumerate Mail Exchange (MX) Records (opens in a new tab)
DNS Zone Transfers (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 3 Apr 2026, 02:53 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-200

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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