CVE-2026-20648
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 · uneditedA privacy issue was addressed by moving sensitive data to a protected location. This issue is fixed in macOS Tahoe 26.3. A malicious app may be able to access notifications from other iCloud devices.
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 confidenceA vulnerability in macOS allowed a malicious application to access notifications from other iCloud devices due to sensitive notification data not being stored in a protected location. The fix involved moving this sensitive data to a secure location within the macOS security architecture.
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< 26.3CVSS 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
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check macOS versionGo to Apple menu > About This Mac to view the installed macOS version numberAffected if The version shown is earlier than 26.3 (macOS Tahoe 26.3)
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Verify iCloud notification sync statusOpen System Settings > Apple ID > iCloud and check if iCloud syncing for notifications is enabledAffected if iCloud notification syncing is active on a macOS version below 26.3
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Inspect notification database locationExamine the file system path where macOS stores notification data (typically within ~/Library/ or /Library/ under com.apple.notificationcenter)Affected if Notification data files exist in an unprotected user-accessible directory rather than a system-protected location
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Review application access to notification dataUse system auditing tools (such as sudo log stream --predicate 'eventMessage contains "notification"') to observe which processes access the notification databaseAffected if A third-party application successfully reads notification data from iCloud-synced sources
The environment is affected if running macOS versions earlier than 26.3 with iCloud notification syncing enabled and notification data stored in an unprotected location.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 · scoped26.3
Update to macOS Tahoe 26.3 or later to receive the patched version that properly protects notification data in a secure location.
macOS Tahoe 26.3
- Back up your Mac using Time Machine or another backup solution before upgrading
- Ensure your Mac meets the minimum system requirements for macOS Tahoe 26.3
- Connect your Mac to a reliable power source and stable internet connection
- Open System Settings (or System Preferences on older macOS versions)
- Navigate to General > Software Update
- Click 'Check for Update' and wait for macOS Tahoe 26.3 to appear
- Click 'Download and Install' to begin the upgrade process
- Follow the on-screen instructions and allow the installation to complete
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2026-20648 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2026-20648 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- 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