VulnerabilityPublished 11 Feb 2026Updated 2 Apr 2026

CVE-2026-20662: Apple macOS · Information Exposure

Affects Apple macOSSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 4.6 Medium : upgrade to 26.3 or 15.7.4 when convenient.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 17:16 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

4.6Medium

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

EPSS: 0.1% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 7% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch: Available – fixed in 26.3, 15.7.4

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

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

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

Attack Vector: Physical: The attack requires the attacker to physically touch or manipulate the vulnerable component. Physical interaction may be brief or persistent.
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: None: The vulnerable system can be exploited without any interaction from any user.
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: None: There is no loss of integrity within 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 26 Oct 2026.

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 or the CVSS exploit maturity 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 Apple macOS to 26.3 or 15.7.4.

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
ApplemacOS	Affected <26.3	Fixed in 26.3
ApplemacOS	Affected <15.7.4	Fixed in 15.7.4

AI-suggested

To mitigate CVE-2026-20662, organizations and users should immediately update affected macOS devices to versions Sequoia 15.7.4 or Tahoe 26.3 or later, where the vulnerability is patched. Beyond patching, enforcing strict physical security controls is critical, including securing devices in locked rooms or cabinets, using cable locks, and implementing policies to prevent unauthorized physical access. Enabling full disk encryption (FileVault) adds an additional layer of protection by encrypting data at rest, reducing the risk of data exposure even if physical access is obtained. Organizations should also consider deploying endpoint detection and response (EDR) solutions to monitor for suspicious physical access or tampering. Regular security awareness training should emphasize the importance of device security and prompt reporting of lost or stolen devices. Finally, auditing and restricting access to sensitive information on devices can limit the potential damage if physical access is compromised.

Description

An authorization issue was addressed with improved state management. This issue is fixed in macOS Sequoia 15.7.4, macOS Tahoe 26.3. An attacker with physical access to a locked device may be able to view sensitive user information.

Impact

The primary impact of CVE-2026-20662 is the unauthorized disclosure of sensitive user information on macOS devices when physically accessed while locked. This can lead to privacy breaches, exposure of confidential data, and potential further exploitation if sensitive credentials or personal information are revealed. Although the attacker cannot modify data or disrupt system availability, the confidentiality breach alone can have serious consequences, especially for high-profile individuals, enterprises, or government entities. Organizations relying on macOS devices for sensitive operations or data storage face increased risk if devices are lost, stolen, or accessed by unauthorized personnel. The medium CVSS score reflects the limited attack vector (physical access required) but significant confidentiality impact. The absence of known exploits reduces immediate risk but does not eliminate the threat, particularly in environments with lax physical security controls.

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

Community reviews

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 3 Apr 2026, 02:57 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-200

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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