CVE-2026-20682VulnerabilityPublished 11 Feb 2026Updated 2 Apr 2026

CVE-2026-20682: Apple iOS and iPadOS · An attacker may be able to discover a user’s deleted notes

Affects Apple iOS and iPadOSSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 5.3 Medium : upgrade to 26.3 or 18.7.5 when convenient.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 06:26 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

5.3Medium

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

EPSS: 0.2% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 18% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch: Available – fixed in 26.3, 18.7.5

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

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

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

Attack Vector: Network: The vulnerable component is bound to the network stack and the set of possible attackers extends beyond the other options listed, up to and including the entire Internet. Such a vulnerability is often termed 'remotely exploitable' and can be thought of as an attack being exploitable at the protocol level one or more network hops away (e.g., across one or more routers).
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: Low: There is some loss of confidentiality. Access to some restricted information is obtained, but the attacker does not have control over what information is obtained, or the amount or kind of loss is limited. The information disclosure does not cause a direct, serious loss to the impacted component.
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 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 Apple iOS and iPadOS to 26.3 or 18.7.5.

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
AppleiOS and iPadOS	Affected <18.7.5 <26.3	Fixed in 26.3 18.7.5

AI-suggested

To mitigate CVE-2026-20682, organizations and users should promptly update all affected Apple devices to iOS 18.7.5, iPadOS 18.7.5, or later versions (including iOS 26.3 and iPadOS 26.3). Beyond patching, users should avoid storing highly sensitive information in Notes or ensure notes are encrypted or protected with additional security controls. Organizations can implement Mobile Device Management (MDM) policies to enforce timely OS updates and restrict network access to vulnerable devices until patched. Monitoring network traffic for unusual access patterns to Apple devices may help detect exploitation attempts. Additionally, educating users about the risks of storing sensitive data in apps with potential residual data exposure can reduce the impact. For high-security environments, consider disabling or limiting the use of the Notes app until devices are updated. Regular audits of device security posture and data protection policies will further reduce risk.

Description

A logic issue was addressed with improved state management. This issue is fixed in iOS 18.7.5 and iPadOS 18.7.5, iOS 26.3 and iPadOS 26.3. An attacker may be able to discover a user’s deleted notes.

Impact

The primary impact of CVE-2026-20682 is the unauthorized disclosure of deleted notes, which may contain sensitive personal or business information. This breach of confidentiality can lead to privacy violations, exposure of intellectual property, or leakage of confidential communications. Organizations using iOS or iPadOS devices for sensitive note-taking risk data leakage if devices are targeted by attackers exploiting this flaw. Since the vulnerability does not affect data integrity or device availability, it does not enable data modification or denial of service. However, the ease of exploitation without authentication or user interaction increases the risk of remote data exposure, especially in environments where devices are connected to untrusted networks. The absence of known exploits limits immediate widespread impact, but the vulnerability remains a concern for privacy-conscious users and organizations. Failure to update vulnerable devices could result in targeted attacks against high-value individuals or enterprises relying on Apple mobile platforms.

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, 03:01 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-200

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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