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IpadosOperating system · Apple

CVE-2026-20673

MEDIUM · 5.3 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-02-11
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 14.8.4 / 15.7.4 or later.
See remediation →
62/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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 logic issue was addressed with improved checks. This issue is fixed in iOS 18.7.5 and iPadOS 18.7.5, macOS Sequoia 15.7.4, macOS Sonoma 14.8.4, macOS Tahoe 26.3. Turning off "Load remote content in messages” may not apply to all mail previews.

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 logic flaw in Apple Mail prevented the 'Load remote content in messages' privacy setting from applying consistently across all mail previews. Remote content (images, tracking pixels) could still load in certain preview scenarios even when users explicitly disabled this feature, allowing email senders to potentially track email opens and capture user IP addresses.

MitigationApply the vendor-supplied updates: iOS 18.7.5, iPadOS 18.7.5, macOS Sequoia 15.7.4, macOS Sonoma 14.8.4, or macOS Tahoe 26.3 depending on the affected device.

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:< 18.7.5
Iphone OsOperating system
Affected:< 18.7.5
macOSOperating system
Affected:< 14.8.4>= 15.0, < 15.7.4>= 26.0, < 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
Low
Availability
None

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

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

  1. Check iOS or iPadOS version
    Go to Settings > General > About on iPhone or iPad. Note the version number shown.
    Affected if Version is earlier than 18.7.5 on iPhone or iPadOS.
  2. Check macOS version
    Click Apple menu > About This Mac. Note the version number shown.
    Affected if Version is earlier than 14.8.4, or between 15.0 and 15.7.3, or between 26.0 and 26.2.
  3. Locate Apple Mail privacy setting
    On iPhone/iPad: Go to Settings > Mail > Privacy Protection. On macOS: Open Mail, go to Mail > Settings > Privacy. Find the 'Load remote content in messages' toggle.
    Affected if The toggle exists and can be inspected.
  4. Confirm affected configuration
    If using an affected OS version (steps 1-2) and the 'Load remote content in messages' setting is disabled, the environment is vulnerable to remote content loading in mail previews despite the setting.
    Affected if OS version is in the affected range AND the privacy setting to block remote content is disabled (or was disabled during use).

The environment is affected if the device runs an iOS/iPadOS version before 18.7.5 or a macOS version before 14.8.4 (or in the 15.0-15.7.3 or 26.0-26.2 ranges), and the user relies on Apple Mail's privacy setting to block remote content in emails.

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 / 15.7.4 / 18.7.5 or later
Fixed in 14.8.415.7.418.7.5
Interim mitigation

Apply the vendor-supplied updates: iOS 18.7.5, iPadOS 18.7.5, macOS Sequoia 15.7.4, macOS Sonoma 14.8.4, or macOS Tahoe 26.3 depending on the affected device.

Recommended fix High confidence

iOS 18.7.5 / iPadOS 18.7.5 / macOS Sonoma 14.8.4 / macOS Sequoia 15.7.4 / macOS Tahoe 26.3

  1. Check current iOS version: Go to Settings > General > About on iPhone or iPad
  2. Check current iPadOS version: Go to Settings > General > About on iPad
  3. Check current macOS version: Click Apple menu > About This Mac
  4. For iPhone/iPad: Go to Settings > General > Software Update and upgrade to iOS 18.7.5 or iPadOS 18.7.5
  5. For macOS Sonoma (14.x): Go to System Settings > General > Software Update and upgrade to 14.8.4
  6. For macOS Sequoia (15.x): Go to System Settings > General > Software Update and upgrade to 15.7.4
  7. For macOS Tahoe (26.x): Go to System Settings > General > Software Update and upgrade to 26.3
  8. After update, verify the fix by confirming that 'Load remote content in messages' setting is properly applied to all mail previews
Caveat Standard iOS/macOS upgrade considerations apply - review app compatibility and backup data before upgrading

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

Fix this in Ipados Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
4.0 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-2026-20673 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