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IpadosOperating system · Apple

CVE-2026-20637

MEDIUM · 6.2 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-03-25
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 14.8.5 / 15.7.5 or later.
See remediation →
67/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
No privileges 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 use after free issue was addressed with improved memory management. This issue is fixed in iOS 18.7.7 and iPadOS 18.7.7, iOS 26.3 and iPadOS 26.3, macOS Sequoia 15.7.5, macOS Sonoma 14.8.5, macOS Tahoe 26.3, tvOS 26.3, visionOS 26.3, watchOS 26.3. An app may be able to cause unexpected system termination.

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 · moderate confidence

A use-after-free vulnerability in Apple's platform operating systems (iOS, iPadOS, macOS, tvOS, visionOS, watchOS) stemming from improper memory management. An application can exploit this flaw to cause unexpected system termination.

MitigationApply the vendor-supplied patches: iOS/iPadOS 18.7.7 or 26.3 and later; macOS Sequoia 15.7.5, Sonoma 14.8.5, or Tahoe 26.3 and later; tvOS/visionOS/watchOS 26.3 and later.

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:< 18.7.7>= 26.0, < 26.3
Iphone OsOperating system
Affected:< 18.7.7>= 26.0, < 26.3
macOSOperating system
Affected:>= 14.0, < 14.8.5>= 15.0, < 15.7.5>= 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
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/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. Identify your Apple platform
    Determine whether the device runs iOS, iPadOS, macOS, tvOS, visionOS, or watchOS. For macOS, open Apple menu > About This Mac to see the OS name and version. For iOS/iPadOS, go to Settings > General > About. For tvOS/visionOS, go to Settings > General > About. For watchOS, open the Watch app on a paired iPhone and go to General > About.
    Affected if The device runs any of the listed Apple platforms (iOS, iPadOS, macOS, tvOS, visionOS, watchOS)
  2. Check the installed iOS or iPadOS version
    On iPhone or iPad, go to Settings > General > About and note the version number (for example, 18.5 or 26.2).
    Affected if The version is less than 18.7.7, or greater than or equal to 26.0 but less than 26.3
  3. Check the installed macOS version
    Open Apple menu > About This Mac and note the version number (for example, 14.5, 15.4, or 26.1). Also note the marketing name (Sonoma, Sequoia, or Tahoe).
    Affected if The version is 14.0 or higher but less than 14.8.5; or 15.0 or higher but less than 15.7.5; or 26.0 or higher but less than 26.3
  4. Check the installed tvOS, visionOS, or watchOS version
    For tvOS or visionOS, go to Settings > General > About on the device. For watchOS, open the Watch app on the paired iPhone, select a watch, and go to General > About. Note the version number.
    Affected if The version is less than 26.3

You are affected if your device runs any of these vulnerable versions: iOS/iPadOS below 18.7.7 or 26.0-26.2; macOS 14.0-14.8.4, 15.0-15.7.4, or 26.0-26.2; tvOS, visionOS, or watchOS below 26.3.

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 14.8.5 / 15.7.5 / 18.7.7 or later
Fixed in 14.8.515.7.518.7.7
Interim mitigation

Apply the vendor-supplied patches: iOS/iPadOS 18.7.7 or 26.3 and later; macOS Sequoia 15.7.5, Sonoma 14.8.5, or Tahoe 26.3 and later; tvOS/visionOS/watchOS 26.3 and later.

Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to iOS 18.7.7/iPadOS 18.7.7, iOS 26.3/iPadOS 26.3, macOS Sonoma 14.8.5, macOS Sequoia 15.7.5, macOS Tahoe 26.3, tvOS 26.3, visionOS 26.3, or watchOS 26.3 as applicable to your device

  1. Back up your device using iCloud or Finder/iTunes before performing any update
  2. For iPhone/iPad: Go to Settings > General > Software Update and install the available update (iOS 18.7.7 or iOS 26.3, iPadOS 18.7.7 or iPadOS 26.3)
  3. For Mac: Go to System Settings > General > Software Update and install the available update (macOS Sonoma 14.8.5, macOS Sequoia 15.7.5, or macOS Tahoe 26.3)
  4. For Apple TV: Go to Settings > System > Software Updates and install tvOS 26.3
  5. For Apple Watch: On your iPhone, open the Watch app, go to My Watch > General > Software Update and install watchOS 26.3
  6. For Apple Vision Pro: Go to Settings > General > Software Update and install visionOS 26.3
  7. After updating, verify the update was successful by checking the OS version in Settings > General > About
Caveat Standard Apple OS update considerations apply - ensure backups exist before updating

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

Fix this in Ipados Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation5.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
13.0 hours of engineering $2,310
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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-2026-20637 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