VulnerabilityPublished 25 Mar 2026Updated 2 Apr 2026

CVE-2026-20691: Apple Safari · A maliciously crafted webpage may be able to fingerprint the user

Affects Apple SafariSource CVE Database V5

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Not known to be exploited · CVSS 4.3 Medium : upgrade to 26.4 when convenient.

Data as of 30 Oct 2026, 11:52 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

4.3Medium

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

EPSS: 0.2% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 21% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch: Available – fixed in 26.4

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

Attack Vector: Network
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: Required
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: 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: 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 25 Mar 2026
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponized: 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 30 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.
Weaponized: A Metasploit exploit module or Exploit-DB entry exists (Metasploit scanner modules do not count), 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 Safari and iOS and iPadOS and macOS and visionOS and watchOS to 26.4.

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
AppleSafari	Affected <26.4	Fixed in 26.4
AppleiOS and iPadOS	Affected <26.4	Fixed in 26.4
ApplemacOS	Affected <26.4	Fixed in 26.4
ApplevisionOS	Affected <26.4	Fixed in 26.4
ApplewatchOS	Affected <26.4	Fixed in 26.4

AI-suggested

To mitigate CVE-2026-20691, organizations and users should promptly update Safari and all affected Apple operating systems to version 26.4 or later, where the issue is fixed. Beyond patching, administrators should consider deploying browser privacy extensions or settings that limit fingerprinting capabilities, such as disabling JavaScript where feasible or using privacy-focused browsing modes. Network-level protections like web filtering to block known malicious sites can reduce exposure to crafted webpages. User awareness training to recognize and avoid suspicious links or websites can help prevent triggering the vulnerability. Enterprises should monitor for unusual web traffic patterns indicative of fingerprinting attempts. For high-security environments, consider restricting Safari usage or employing alternative browsers with stronger anti-fingerprinting protections until patches are fully deployed.

Description

An authorization issue was addressed with improved state management. This issue is fixed in Safari 26.4, iOS 26.4 and iPadOS 26.4, macOS Tahoe 26.4, visionOS 26.4, watchOS 26.4. A maliciously crafted webpage may be able to fingerprint the user.

Impact

The primary impact of CVE-2026-20691 is on user privacy and confidentiality. Successful exploitation allows attackers to fingerprint users via Safari, enabling persistent tracking and profiling without user consent. This can lead to targeted advertising, surveillance, or more sophisticated tracking campaigns. While it does not compromise system integrity or availability, the erosion of privacy can have significant consequences for individuals and organizations concerned with data protection and regulatory compliance (e.g., GDPR). Enterprises relying on Safari for web access may face increased risk of user tracking and data leakage through browser fingerprinting. The requirement for user interaction limits automated exploitation but does not eliminate risk, especially in phishing or malicious advertising scenarios. The vulnerability affects a broad range of Apple devices, increasing the scope of potential impact globally.

CWE-497Exposure of Sensitive System Information to an Unauthorized Control Sphere (opens in a new tab)
Base weaknessOWASP Top 10 A01:2025: Broken Access Control (opens in a new tab)
The product does not properly prevent sensitive system-level information from being accessed by unauthorized actors who do not have the same level of access to the underlying system as the product does.
Architecture and Design · Implementation
Production applications should never use methods that generate internal details such as stack traces and error messages unless that information is directly committed to a log that is not viewable by the end user.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
Error Handling (opens in a new tab)
Authorization (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V14.3.2 (opens in a new tab)
V8.3.4 (opens in a new tab)
V14.3.3 (opens in a new tab)
Attack patterns
Web Application Fingerprinting (opens in a new tab)
System Location Discovery (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, 03:02 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-497

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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