dbcve.org
IpadosOperating system · Apple

CVE-2026-20617

HIGH · 7.0 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-02-11
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 14.8.4 / 26.3 or later.
See remediation →
72/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
A race condition was addressed with improved state handling. This issue is fixed in iOS 26.3 and iPadOS 26.3, macOS Sonoma 14.8.4, macOS Tahoe 26.3, tvOS 26.3, visionOS 26.3, watchOS 26.3. An app may be able to gain root privileges.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

A race condition in Apple's state handling allows a malicious application to escalate privileges to root. The vulnerability likely involves a time-of-check-time-of-use (TOCTOU) issue or improper synchronization in privilege management code, enabling an app to bypass security boundaries.

MitigationApply the vendor-supplied updates: iOS 26.3, iPadOS 26.3, macOS Sonoma 14.8.4, macOS Tahoe 26.3, tvOS 26.3, visionOS 26.3, and watchOS 26.3. No further user action required beyond standard patch management.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
IpadosOperating system
Affected:< 26.3
Iphone OsOperating system
Affected:< 26.3
macOSOperating system
Affected:>= 14.0, < 14.8.4>= 26.0, < 26.3
TvosOperating system
Affected:< 26.3
VisionosOperating system
Affected:< 26.3
WatchosOperating system
Affected:< 26.3

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Local
Complexity
High
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

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

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Check iOS version
    Go to Settings > General > About on iPhone or iPad. Note the version number shown next to 'Version'.
    Affected if Version is less than 26.3
  2. Check iPadOS version
    Go to Settings > General > About on iPad. Note the version number shown next to 'Version'.
    Affected if Version is less than 26.3
  3. Check macOS version
    Click the Apple menu > About This Mac. Note the version number (for example, 14.x or 26.x).
    Affected if Version is 14.0 through 14.8.3, or 26.0 through 26.2
  4. Check tvOS version
    Go to Settings > General > About > Version on Apple TV.
    Affected if Version is less than 26.3
  5. Check visionOS version
    Go to Settings > General > About on Apple Vision Pro.
    Affected if Version is less than 26.3
  6. Check watchOS version
    Open the Settings app on Apple Watch, go to General > About, and note the watchOS version.
    Affected if Version is less than 26.3

Your device is affected if its operating system version is lower than 26.3 (or, for macOS, if it is 14.0-14.8.3 or 26.0-26.2).

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 14.8.4 / 26.3 or later
Fixed in 14.8.426.3
Interim mitigation

Apply the vendor-supplied updates: iOS 26.3, iPadOS 26.3, macOS Sonoma 14.8.4, macOS Tahoe 26.3, tvOS 26.3, visionOS 26.3, and watchOS 26.3. No further user action required beyond standard patch management.

Recommended fix High confidence

iOS 26.3 / iPadOS 26.3 / macOS Sonoma 14.8.4 / macOS Tahoe 26.3 / tvOS 26.3 / visionOS 26.3 / watchOS 26.3

  1. Identify the affected device (iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, Apple Vision Pro, or Apple Watch)
  2. For iPhone: Go to Settings > General > Software Update and install iOS 26.3
  3. For iPad: Go to Settings > General > Software Update and install iPadOS 26.3
  4. For Mac: Go to System Settings > General > Software Update and install macOS Sonoma 14.8.4 or macOS Tahoe 26.3 as appropriate for your system
  5. For Apple TV: Go to Settings > System > Software Updates and install tvOS 26.3
  6. For Apple Vision Pro: Go to Settings > General > Software Update and install visionOS 26.3
  7. For Apple Watch: Go to Settings > General > Software Update on the paired iPhone, or directly on watch via Settings > General > Software Update, and install watchOS 26.3
  8. Verify the update was successful by checking the software version matches the fixed release
Caveat These are major version updates (26.x) that may include new features and UI changes; backup device data before updating

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Ipados Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
3.0 hours of engineering $750
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2026-20617 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data