CVE-2026-20688: Use After Free

Published Mar 24, 2026
·
Updated

802.1X. An authentication issue was addressed with improved state management.

Other sources

A path handling issue was addressed with improved validation. This issue is fixed in iOS 26.4 and iPadOS 26.4, macOS Sequoia 15.7.5, macOS Sonoma 14.8.5, macOS Tahoe 26.4, visionOS 26.4. An app may be able to break out of its sandbox.

— NVD

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

— Apple

Admin Framework. A path handling issue was addressed with improved validation.

— Apple

apache. This is a vulnerability in open source code and Apple Software is among the affected projects. The CVE-ID was assigned by a third party. Learn more about the issue and CVE-ID at cve.org.

— Apple

App Protection. The issue was addressed with improved checks.

— Apple

Credit

Tuan D. Hoang, Hazem Issa, Yongdae Kim @ KAIST SysSec Lab, Alvin Aries Tapia, an anonymous researcher, Cristian Dinca (icmd.tech), Hossein Lotfi@@hosselot(TrendAI Zero Day Initiative), Etienne Charron (Renault), Victoria Martini (Renault), Zhongcheng Li(IES Red Team), CVE-2025-14524, Andreas Jaegersberger & Ro Achterberg(Nosebeard Labs), XiguaSec, CVE-2025-64505, Gor Aleksanyan(BoB 0xB6), Dhiyanesh Selvaraj@@redroot97(BoB 0xB6), 이동하 (Lee Dong Ha(BoB 0xB6), Jian Lee@@speedyfriend433, DARKNAVY@@DarkNavyOrg, Johnny Franks@@zeroxjf, Ilya Andr (andrd3v)(Voynich Group), Ilias Morad (A2nkF)(Voynich Group), Duy Trần@@khanhduytran0, @@hugeBlack, Himanshu Bharti@@Xpl0itme(Khatima), wdszzml, Atuin Automated Vulnerability Discovery Engine, Guy Dor, Gongyu Ma@@Mezone0, Alex Radocea, Yongdae Kim @ SysSec, KAIST, Caspian Tarafdar, Andrew Becker, webb, Thomas Espach, @@hamayanhamayan, Yeonghyeon Choi, Daniel Rhea, Söhnke Benedikt Fischedick (Tripton), Emrovsky & Switch3301, Yevhen Pervushyn, Minse Kim, Narcis Oliveras Fontàs, Nathaniel Oh@@calysteon, Hongze Wu(Ant Group Infrastructure Security Team), Shuaike Dong(Ant Group Infrastructure Security Team), greenbynox, Arni Hardarson, Héloïse Gollier, Mathy Vanhoef (KU Leuven), Rosyna Keller(Totally Not Malicious Software), Adrián Pérez Martínez, Uluk Abylbekov, Zack Tickman, Justin Cohen(Google), Jex Amro, CVE-2025-55753, CVE-2025-58098, CVE-2025-59775, CVE-2025-65082, CVE-2025-66200, Johnny Franks (zeroxjf), Mickey Jin@@patch1t, Amy (amys.website), @@cloudlldb, YingQi Shi@@Mas0nShi(DBAppSecurity's WeBin lab), 风沐云烟@@binary_fmyy, Minghao Lin@@Y1nKoc, Kirin@@Pwnrin, hari shanmugam, Sreejith Krishnan R, Chunyu Song(NorthSea), Rodolphe Brunetti@@eisw0lf(Lupus Nova), Matej Moravec@@MacejkoMoravec, Csaba Fitzl@@theevilbit(Iru), Dawuge(Shuffle Team), Hunan University, Kun Peeks@@SwayZGl1tZyyy, Gyujeong Jin at Team.0xb6@@G1uN4sh, Christian Kohlschütter, Dave G., @@pixiepointsec, Ryan Dowd@@_rdowd, Koh M. Nakagawa@@tsunek0h(FFRI Security Inc), Talal Haj Bakry(Mysk Inc), Tommy Mysk@@mysk_co(Mysk Inc), Zhongquan Li@@Guluisacat, Asaf Cohen, Ye Zhang(Baidu Security), Ryan Dowd@@_rdowd(Iru), Joseph Ravichandran@@0xjprx(MIT CSAIL), Yuebin Sun@@yuebinsun2020(SecuRing), an anonymous researcher(SecuRing), Nathaniel Oh@@calysteon(SecuRing), Kirin@@Pwnrin(SecuRing), Wojciech Regula(SecuRing), Joshua Jewett@@JoshJewett33, Gergely Kalman@@gergely_kalman, Andrei Dodu, Morris Richman@@morrisinlife, Luke Roberts@@rookuu, Pedro Tôrres@@t0rr3sp3dr0

Affected Software

12 affected componentsFixes available
Apple iOS<26.4
26.4
Apple iPadOS<26.4
26.4
Apple macOS Tahoe<26.4
26.4
Apple macOS Sequoia<15.7.5
15.7.5
Apple visionOS<26.4
26.4
Apple macOS Sonoma<14.8.5
14.8.5
Apple iPadOS<26.4
Apple iPhone OS<26.4
Apple macOS>=14.0<14.8.5
Apple macOS>=15.0<15.7.5
Apple macOS>=26.0<26.4
Apple visionOS<26.4

Event History

Mar 24, 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
Mar 25, 2026
CVE Published
via MITRE·12:31 AM
Data Sourced
via MITRE·12:31 AM
DescriptionWeakness
Data Sourced
via NVD·01:17 AM
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-2026-20688?

CVE-2026-20688 is classified with a high severity due to its potential impact on authentication and application security.

2

How do I fix CVE-2026-20688?

To fix CVE-2026-20688, update your device to iOS 26.4, iPadOS 26.4, macOS Sequoia 15.7.5, macOS Sonoma 14.8.5, macOS Tahoe 26.4, or visionOS 26.4.

3

Which Apple products are impacted by CVE-2026-20688?

CVE-2026-20688 affects Apple iOS, iPadOS, macOS (Sequoia, Sonoma, Tahoe), and visionOS versions prior to the specified updates.

4

What vulnerabilities does CVE-2026-20688 address?

CVE-2026-20688 addresses authentication issues and path handling concerns that could lead to application vulnerabilities.

5

When was the CVE-2026-20688 vulnerability reported?

CVE-2026-20688 was officially reported alongside its fixes in the updates released for supported Apple operating systems.

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