dbcve.org
IpadosOperating system · Apple

CVE-2026-20650

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-02-11
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 26.3 or later.
See remediation →
84/100
Remediation priority · High
Remotely reachable 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 denial-of-service issue was addressed with improved validation. This issue is fixed in iOS 26.3 and iPadOS 26.3, macOS Tahoe 26.3, tvOS 26.3, visionOS 26.3, watchOS 26.3. An attacker in a privileged network position may be able to perform denial-of-service attack using crafted Bluetooth packets.

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 denial-of-service vulnerability exists in multiple Apple operating systems (iOS, iPadOS, macOS Tahoe, tvOS, visionOS, watchOS) due to insufficient validation of specially crafted Bluetooth packets. An attacker within Bluetooth range can send malicious packets that cause the device to become unresponsive or unavailable.

MitigationApply the vendor-supplied updates: iOS 26.3, iPadOS 26.3, macOS Tahoe 26.3, tvOS 26.3, visionOS 26.3, and watchOS 26.3. For enterprise environments, test updates for compatibility before broad deployment.

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:< 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
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/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. Confirm Bluetooth is enabled
    On the device, verify that Bluetooth is turned on in Settings (iOS/iPadOS: Settings > Bluetooth; macOS: System Settings > Bluetooth; tvOS: Settings > Bluetooth; watchOS: Settings > Bluetooth; visionOS: Settings > Bluetooth).
    Affected if Bluetooth is enabled and the OS version is below 26.3 - the device is vulnerable to the malformed packet attack.
  2. Check iOS version on iPhone
    Go to Settings > General > About and note the Software Version. Compare it to 26.3.
    Affected if The version shown is less than 26.3 (for example, 26.2, 26.1, 25.x, etc.).
  3. Check iPadOS version on iPad
    Go to Settings > General > About and note the Software Version. Compare it to 26.3.
    Affected if The version shown is less than 26.3.
  4. Check macOS version
    Click the Apple menu > About This Mac. Note the macOS version number displayed. Compare it to 26.3.
    Affected if The version shown is less than 26.3.
  5. Check tvOS version on Apple TV
    Go to Settings > General > About and note the tvOS version. Compare it to 26.3.
    Affected if The version shown is less than 26.3.
  6. Check watchOS version on Apple Watch
    On the iPhone paired with the Apple Watch, open the Watch app > General > About. Note the watchOS version. Compare it to 26.3.
    Affected if The version shown is less than 26.3.

The device is affected if Bluetooth is enabled and the installed operating system version is below 26.3, regardless of which Apple platform (iOS, iPadOS, macOS, tvOS, visionOS, or watchOS) is running.

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 26.3 or later
Fixed in 26.3
Interim mitigation

Apply the vendor-supplied updates: iOS 26.3, iPadOS 26.3, macOS Tahoe 26.3, tvOS 26.3, visionOS 26.3, and watchOS 26.3. For enterprise environments, test updates for compatibility before broad deployment.

Recommended fix High confidence

iOS 26.3, iPadOS 26.3, macOS 26.3 (Tahoe), tvOS 26.3, visionOS 26.3, watchOS 26.3

  1. Identify the device type and current OS version (iOS, iPadOS, macOS, tvOS, visionOS, or watchOS).
  2. Confirm the installed version is earlier than 26.3.
  3. Back up important data on the device as a precaution.
  4. Connect the device to a power source and Wi‑Fi network.
  5. Install the vendor‑provided security update to version 26.3 (e.g., via Settings > General > Software Update on iOS/iPadOS, System Preferences > Software Update on macOS, or the built‑in update mechanism on tvOS, visionOS, watchOS).
  6. After the update completes, restart the device if prompted.
  7. Verify that the OS version now shows 26.3.

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

Fix this in Ipados Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,040
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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-2026-20650 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