CVE-2026-20700: Apple Multiple Buffer Overflow Vulnerability
- Is it exploited?
Yes. CISA added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on 12 Feb 2026, 1 day after the CVE record was published.
- How likely is exploitation in the next 30 days?
- 1.7%
EPSS score, percentile 76.8 of all scored records
- How severe?
- 7.8 High
CVSS v3.1 base score, from CISA's enrichment of the record
- What should I do?
Required action (CISA), due 5 Mar 2026: Apply mitigations per vendor instructions, follow applicable BOD 22-01 guidance for cloud services, or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.
The CVE record links no vendor advisory, patch or mitigation.
- Which versions are affected?
Affected: before 26.3; before 26.3; before 26.3; before 26.3; before 26.3
Source: CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, 2026.10.28, as of 28 Oct 2026; FIRST Exploit Prediction Scoring System (EPSS), v2026.06.15, as of 28 Oct 2026; CVE List V5 (CVE Program), cve_2026-10-28_0000Z, as of 28 Oct 2026. About the data.
What to do
Required action, set by CISA
Apply mitigations per vendor instructions, follow applicable BOD 22-01 guidance for cloud services, or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.
CISA due date for this action: 5 March 2026.
Advisories and patches
The CVE record links no vendor advisory, patch or mitigation.
Linked from CISA's catalog entry
- https://support.apple.com/en-us/126346
- https://support.apple.com/en-us/126348
- https://support.apple.com/en-us/126351
- https://support.apple.com/en-us/126352
- https://support.apple.com/en-us/126353
- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-20700
Affected products and versions
As listed in the CVE record.
| Status | Versions |
|---|---|
| Affected | before 26.3 |
| Status | Versions |
|---|---|
| Affected | before 26.3 |
| Status | Versions |
|---|---|
| Affected | before 26.3 |
| Status | Versions |
|---|---|
| Affected | before 26.3 |
| Status | Versions |
|---|---|
| Affected | before 26.3 |
Source: CVE List V5 (CVE Program), cve_2026-10-28_0000Z, as of 28 Oct 2026. About the data.
About this vulnerability
Apple iOS, macOS, tvOS, watchOS, and visionOS contain an improper restriction of operations within the bounds of a memory buffer vulnerability that could allow an attacker with memory write the capability to execute arbitrary code.
Summary: CISA's KEV catalog, as of 28 Oct 2026.
- CISA added CVE-2026-20700 to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog on 12 Feb 2026.
- CISA's ransomware flag for this entry is "Unknown": no evidence of ransomware use in the catalog, which is not proof of none.
- The due date CISA sets for the required action is 5 Mar 2026.
- The CVE record was published on 11 Feb 2026, 1 day before it was added to KEV.
- The CVE record carries a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.8 (High), taken from CISA's enrichment of the record.
- FIRST's EPSS model puts the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days at 1.7% (percentile 76.8), as of 28 Oct 2026.
- CISA's SSVC assessment in the CVE record: exploitation active, automatable no, technical impact total.
Source: CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, 2026.10.28, as of 28 Oct 2026; CVE List V5 (CVE Program), cve_2026-10-28_0000Z, as of 28 Oct 2026; FIRST Exploit Prediction Scoring System (EPSS), v2026.06.15, as of 28 Oct 2026. About the data.
Description
A memory corruption issue was addressed with improved state management. This issue is fixed in iOS 26.3 and iPadOS 26.3, macOS Tahoe 26.3, tvOS 26.3, visionOS 26.3, watchOS 26.3. An attacker with memory write capability may be able to execute arbitrary code. Apple is aware of a report that this issue may have been exploited in an extremely sophisticated attack against specific targeted individuals on versions of iOS before iOS 26. CVE-2025-14174 and CVE-2025-43529 were also issued in response to this report.
Source: CVE List V5 (CVE Program), cve_2026-10-28_0000Z, as of 28 Oct 2026. About the data.
Weakness
- CWE-119: Improper Restriction of Operations within the Bounds of a Memory Buffer
CWE and CAPEC are maintained by MITRE; the entries are those named in the CVE record and the KEV entry.
Timeline
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 11 Feb 2026 | CVE record published |
| 12 Feb 2026 | Added to CISA KEV |
| 5 Mar 2026 | CISA due date for the required action |
| 2 Apr 2026 | CVE record last updated |
References
More exploited Apple vulnerabilities
- CVE-2026-86950: Apple Multiple Products Out-of-Bounds Write Vulnerability
- CVE-2026-65400: Apple macOS Improper Authentication Vulnerability
- CVE-2025-31277: Apple Multiple Products Buffer Overflow Vulnerability
- CVE-2025-43510: Apple Multiple Products Improper Locking Vulnerability
- CVE-2025-43520: Apple Multiple Products Classic Buffer Overflow Vulnerability
- CVE-2021-30952: Apple Multiple Products Integer Overflow or Wraparound Vulnerability