CVE-2026-20677: Use After Free

Published Feb 11, 2026
·
Updated

A race condition was addressed with improved handling of symbolic links. This issue is fixed in iOS 18.7.5 and iPadOS 18.7.5, iOS 26.3 and iPadOS 26.3, macOS Sonoma 14.8.4, macOS Tahoe 26.3, visionOS 26.3. A shortcut may be able to bypass sandbox restrictions.

Other sources

Accessibility. A privacy issue was addressed by removing sensitive data.

— Apple

Accessibility. An inconsistent user interface issue was addressed with improved state management.

— Apple

Admin Framework. A parsing issue in the handling of directory paths was addressed with improved path validation.

— Apple

AppleEvents. An authorization issue was addressed with improved state management.

— Apple

AppleKeyStore. A use after free issue was addressed with improved memory management.

— Apple

Credit

Wong Wee Xiang, Loh Boon Keat, Jacob Prezant (prezant.us), Johnny Franks (zeroxjf), an anonymous researcher, jioundai, Nils Hanff @chaos.social)@@nils1729(Hasso Plattner Institute), Amy (amys.website), Atul Kishor Jaiswal, Anonymous(Trend Micro Zero Day Initiative), Yiğit Can YILMAZ@@yilmazcanyigit, Golden Helm Securities(Iru), Gergely Kalman@@gergely_kalman(Iru), Csaba Fitzl@@theevilbit(Iru), Gergely Kalman@@gergely_kalman, Google Threat Analysis Group, Kirin@@Pwnrin, Asaf Cohen, George Karchemsky@@gkarchemsky(Trend Micro Zero Day Initiative), Jian Lee@@speedyfriend433, Keisuke Hosoda, Xin'an Zhou, Juefei Pu, Zhutian Liu, Zhiyun Qian, Zhaowei Tan, Srikanth V. Krishnamurthy, Mathy Vanhoef, Zhongcheng Li(IES Red Team), CVE-2025-59375, Richard Hyunho Im at Route Zero Security (routezero.security)@@richeeta, Ron Masas(BreakPoint), Rodolphe Brunetti@@eisw0lf(Lupus Nova), Dalibor Milanovic, Noah Gregory (wts.dev), Óscar García Pérez, Stanislav Jelezoglo, Viktor Lord Härringtón, Enis Maholli (enismaholli.com), Gongyu Ma@@Mezone0, LeminLimez, Nathaniel Oh@@calysteon, HanQing(TSDubhe), Nan Wang@@eternalsakura13, Tom Van Goethem, EntryHi, Wang Yu(Cyberserval), piffz, Daniel Nurkin, Al Sadman Awal, Mohamed Hamdadou & Mahran Alhazmi, Hichem Maloufi, Christian Mina, Gerson Aldaz, qwerty j0y & Ricardo Garcia, Dorian Del Valle, Michael DePlante@@izobashi(Trend Micro Zero Day Initiative), Mickey Jin@@patch1t, @@cloudlldb, Ryan Dowd@@_rdowd, Ron Elemans, Murray Mike, 이동하 (Lee Dong Ha)(SSA Lab), Chunyu Song(NorthSea), Bing Shi(Alibaba Group), Wenchao Li(Alibaba Group), Xiaolong Bai(Alibaba Group), (Indiana University Bloomington), Luyi Xing(Indiana University Bloomington), Kirin@@Pwnrin(Fudan University), LFY@@secsys(Fudan University), Pwn2car, Morris Richman@@morrisinlife, Vivek Dhar, ASI (RM) in Border Security Force, FTR HQ BSF Kashmir

Affected Software

14 affected componentsFixes available
Apple visionOS<26.3
26.3
Apple iOS<26.3
26.3
Apple iPadOS<26.3
26.3
Apple macOS Tahoe<26.3
26.3
Apple iOS<18.7.5
18.7.5
Apple iPadOS<18.7.5
18.7.5
Apple macOS Sonoma<14.8.4
14.8.4
Apple iPadOS<18.7.5
Apple iPadOS>=26.0<26.3
Apple iPhone OS<18.7.5
Apple iPhone OS>=26.0<26.3
Apple macOS<14.8.4
Apple macOS>=26.0<26.3
Apple visionOS<26.3

Event History

Feb 11, 2026
Data Sourced
via Apple·12:00 AM
DescriptionWeaknessAffected Software
Updated
via Apple·12:00 AM
DescriptionWeakness
Updated
via Apple·12:00 AM
Description
Updated
via Apple·12:00 AM
DescriptionWeaknessAffected Software
Updated
via Apple·12:00 AM
DescriptionAffected Software
Updated
via Apple·12:00 AM
Affected Software
CVE Published
via MITRE·10:58 PM
Data Sourced
via MITRE·10:58 PM
DescriptionWeakness
Data Sourced
via NVD·11:16 PM
DescriptionSeverityWeaknessAffected Software

Parent advisories

This vulnerability appears in the following advisories.

Peer vulnerabilities

Found alongside the following vulnerabilities.

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Frequently Asked Questions

1

What is the severity of CVE-2026-20677?

CVE-2026-20677 is classified as a high severity vulnerability due to its potential to bypass sandbox restrictions.

2

How do I fix CVE-2026-20677?

To fix CVE-2026-20677, users should update their devices to the latest versions: macOS Tahoe 26.3, macOS Sonoma 14.8.4, iOS 18.7.5, iPadOS 18.7.5, and visionOS 26.3.

3

Which Apple products are affected by CVE-2026-20677?

CVE-2026-20677 affects macOS Tahoe, macOS Sonoma, iOS, iPadOS, and visionOS prior to their respective fixed versions.

4

What type of vulnerability is CVE-2026-20677?

CVE-2026-20677 is a race condition vulnerability that involves improper handling of symbolic links.

5

What are the risks associated with CVE-2026-20677?

The risks of CVE-2026-20677 include potential unauthorized access and exploitation due to bypassing sandbox restrictions.

Company

Resources

Contact

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