Apple OS DoS via Malicious File Handling (fixed in 26.3, 14.8.4, 15.7.4, 18.7.5)
CVE-2026-20609 Published on February 11, 2026
The issue was addressed with improved memory handling. This issue is fixed in watchOS 26.3, tvOS 26.3, macOS Tahoe 26.3, macOS Sonoma 14.8.4, macOS Sequoia 15.7.4, iOS 18.7.5 and iPadOS 18.7.5, visionOS 26.3, iOS 26.3 and iPadOS 26.3. Processing a maliciously crafted file may lead to a denial-of-service or potentially disclose memory contents.
Vulnerability Analysis
CVE-2026-20609 can be exploited with local system access, requires user interaction. This vulnerability is considered to have a low attack complexity. The potential impact of an exploit of this vulnerability is considered to have a small impact on confidentiality, a small impact on integrity, and a small impact on availability.
Weakness Type
Out-of-bounds Read
The software reads data past the end, or before the beginning, of the intended buffer. Typically, this can allow attackers to read sensitive information from other memory locations or cause a crash. A crash can occur when the code reads a variable amount of data and assumes that a sentinel exists to stop the read operation, such as a NUL in a string. The expected sentinel might not be located in the out-of-bounds memory, causing excessive data to be read, leading to a segmentation fault or a buffer overflow. The software may modify an index or perform pointer arithmetic that references a memory location that is outside of the boundaries of the buffer. A subsequent read operation then produces undefined or unexpected results.
Products Associated with CVE-2026-20609
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Affected Versions
Apple macOS:- Version unspecified and below 26.3 is affected.
- Version unspecified and below 26.3 is affected.
- Version unspecified and below 26.3 is affected.
- Version unspecified and below 15.7 is affected.
- Version unspecified and below 14.8 is affected.
- Version unspecified and below 26.3 is affected.
- Version unspecified and below 18.7 is affected.
- Version unspecified and below 26.3 is affected.
Exploit Probability
EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) scores estimate the probability that a vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. The percentile shows you how this score compares to all other vulnerabilities.