CVE-2026-20688

Sandbox escape via improper Printing path validation

Published Mar 25, 2026 · Updated Mar 25, 2026

Path traversal in Printing in iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and visionOS allows local apps to escape their application sandbox. Apple identifies improper path validation in Printing but has not disclosed the vulnerable function or the exact path operation. Exploitation requires app execution on iOS, iPadOS, or visionOS before 26.4, macOS Sonoma before 14.8.5, Sequoia before 15.7.5, or Tahoe before 26.4; accessible resources remain undisclosed.

CVSS severity9.3
Critical
EPSS probability0.27%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Path traversal in Printing in iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and visionOS allows local apps to escape their application sandbox. Apple identifies improper path validation in Printing but has not disclosed the vulnerable function or the exact path operation. Exploitation requires app execution on iOS, iPadOS, or visionOS before 26.4, macOS Sonoma before 14.8.5, Sequoia before 15.7.5, or Tahoe before 26.4; accessible resources remain undisclosed.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-20688
Published
Mar 25, 2026
Updated
Mar 25, 2026
Vendor
Apple
Product
iOS and iPadOS
Classifications
CWE-22
Attack vector
local
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Mar 25, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Mar 25, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=0 <26.4

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

Apple · iOS and iPadOSversion=0 <26.4
Apple · visionOSversion=0 <26.4
Apple · macOSversion=0 <14.8.5; version=0 <15.7.5; version=0 <26.4

Published CVSS scores

9.3CISA-ADPCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 9, 2026Sep 15, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 15, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesunauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-22Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal')

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

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Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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