What is the CVSS score of CVE-2026-20651?

CVE-2026-20651 has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 6.2 (Medium). CVSS vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N. EPSS exploitation probability: 0.0%.

Which versions of macOS are affected by CVE-2026-20651?

Organizations using A privacy should be aware of moderate risk from CVE-2026-20651 rated CVSS 6.2. Exploitation could compromise the security of affected deployments.. A patch is available.

How to fix or mitigate CVE-2026-20651?

Within 30 days: Identify affected systems and apply vendor patches as part of regular patch cycle. Monitor vendor channels for patch availability.

macOS CVE-2026-20651

EUVD-2026-15045 MEDIUM

Insecure Temporary File (CWE-377)

2026-03-25 apple

GHSA-3j78-4863-937g

Apple Information Disclosure macOS

6.2

CVSS 3.1 · NVD

Severity by source

NVD PRIMARY

6.2 MEDIUM

AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

Primary rating from NVD · only source for this CVE.

CVSS VectorNVD

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

Attack Vector

Local

Attack Complexity

Low

Privileges Required

None

User Interaction

None

Scope

Unchanged

Confidentiality

High

Integrity

None

Availability

None

Lifecycle Timeline

Patch available

Apr 16, 2026 - 05:29 EUVD

26.3,15.7.5,14.8.4

EUVD ID Assigned

Mar 25, 2026 - 01:00 euvd

EUVD-2026-15045

Analysis Generated

Mar 25, 2026 - 01:00 vuln.today

CVE Published

Mar 25, 2026 - 00:31 nvd

MEDIUM 6.2

DescriptionCVE.org

A privacy issue was addressed with improved handling of temporary files. This issue is fixed in macOS Sequoia 15.7.5, macOS Sonoma 14.8.4, macOS Tahoe 26.3. An app may be able to access sensitive user data.

AnalysisAI

A privacy vulnerability in macOS allows applications to access sensitive user data through improper handling of temporary files. The issue affects macOS Sequoia (versions prior to 15.7.5), macOS Sonoma (versions prior to 14.8.4), and macOS Tahoe (versions prior to 26.3). An unprivileged application could exploit weak temporary file protections to read or manipulate sensitive data, though no active exploitation in the wild or public proof-of-concept has been confirmed at this time.

Technical ContextAI

The vulnerability resides in macOS temporary file handling mechanisms, which are used by the operating system and applications for storing short-lived data during runtime operations. The root cause relates to improper access controls and file permissions on temporary file directories and contents (broadly categorized as CWE-276: Incorrect Default Permissions or similar information disclosure weaknesses in file system handling). The affected products span multiple macOS versions across the Sequoia (15.x), Sonoma (14.x), and Tahoe (26.x) release lines, as identified by CPE cpe:2.3:a:apple:macos:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* and the specific fixed versions. Temporary files often contain session data, cached credentials, application state, or user-generated content that should not be world-readable or accessible to untrusted processes.

RemediationAI

Update macOS Sequoia to version 15.7.5 or later, macOS Sonoma to version 14.8.4 or later, or macOS Tahoe to version 26.3 or later, depending on which release you are running. Visit https://support.apple.com/en-us/126348, https://support.apple.com/en-us/126350, or https://support.apple.com/en-us/126795 for detailed patch instructions and to verify your current version. If immediate patching is not possible, consider restricting the execution of untrusted third-party applications and limiting user access to shared systems, as the vulnerability requires local code execution. Enable System Integrity Protection (SIP) and ensure file system permissions are properly enforced to provide an additional layer of defense against unauthorized file access.