# CVE-2026-20698: Memory corruption in iOS and iPadOS

> An app can cause unexpected system termination or corrupt kernel memory, requiring an OS upgrade to mitigate.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 25 Mar 2026
- **Updated:** 2 Apr 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-fc7w-w2c7-j46c

## What is CVE-2026-20698?

CVE-2026-20698 is a medium-severity memory corruption vulnerability in Apple Ipados, published on 25 Mar 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

The issue was addressed with improved memory handling. This issue is fixed in iOS 26.4 and iPadOS 26.4, macOS Tahoe 26.4, tvOS 26.4, visionOS 26.4, watchOS 26.4. An app may be able to cause unexpected system termination or corrupt kernel memory.

Weakness: CWE-787 (Out-of-bounds Write), CWE-119 (Improper Restriction of Operations within the Bounds of a Memory Buffer)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-20698?

It affects 6 products.


Products: Apple Ipados, Apple Iphone Os, Apple Macos, Apple Tvos, Apple Visionos, Apple Watchos.

## How do I fix CVE-2026-20698?

No fix has been published for CVE-2026-20698 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2026-20698 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-20698 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Public exploit code:

- CVE-2026-20698: XNU kernel heap overflow via PF_ROUTE RTA_GENMASK. PoC and analysis. Independently discovered. (github_poc): https://github.com/Somisomair/CVE-2026-20698-PF_ROUTE-Heap-Overflow

## Other vulnerabilities in Apple Ipados

- [CVE-2025-43300](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-43300/): Apple iOS, iPadOS, and macOS Out-of-Bounds Write (critical 10.0, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2025-24201](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-24201/): Apple Multiple Products WebKit Out-of-Bounds Write (critical 10.0, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2025-24085](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-24085/): Apple Multiple Products Use-After-Free (critical 10.0, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2025-31200](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-31200/): Apple Multiple Products Memory Corruption (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2025-31201](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-31201/): Apple Multiple Products Arbitrary Read and Write (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-20698 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-20698 is a medium-severity memory corruption vulnerability in Apple Ipados, published on 25 Mar 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-20698 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Apple Ipados. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-20698/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-20698/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-20698
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-20698
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-20698

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-20698/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.