Home News Operating Systems iOS Apple Patches 'Sophisticated' Zero-Day Attack Targeting Specific iPhone Users The vulnerability, uncovered by Google’s Threat Analysis Group (TAG), seems to be part of a chain of software exploits used to remotely hack certain iPhones. Michael Kan Senior Reporter OUR EXPERT When he's not battling bugs and robots in Helldivers 2, Michael is reporting on AI, satellites, cybersecurity, PCs, and tech policy. Edited By: Chloe Albanesius February 12, 2026 Add as a preferred source on Google (Photo by Matt Cardy/Getty Images)) Apple has rolled out a new patch to plug a previously unknown vulnerability that hackers were abusing to target select iPhone users, after Google flagged the threat. The fix for this "zero-day” attack rolled out yesterday with iOS 26.3 and iPadOS 26.3. "Apple is aware of a report that this issue may have been exploited in an extremely sophisticated attack against specific targeted individuals on versions of iOS before iOS 26," it says. The flaw, dubbed CVE-2026-20700, involves a memory corruption bug in Apple's Dynamic Link Editor, which can load and link software libraries in an app. The company found that if an attacker already has the ability to write memory to an iPhone, they can abuse the flaw to execute rogue computer code, giving them a way to tamper with the software. You May Also Like Keep Watching Big Tech Goes Big on SB Ads, Discord to Make Its Users ‘Teen-by-Default’ and Waymo Controversy | Tech Today The vulnerability alone can’t hack an iPhone. However, Apple’s report suggests the flaw was part of a chain of software exploits used to remotely hack certain iPhones. The company noted the threat is related to two other previously unknown vulnerabilities, CVE-2025-14174 and CVE-2025-43529, that Apple patched in December. The earlier flaws involved “processing maliciously crafted web content,” suggesting the threat came from phishing websites or messages. We wouldn’t be surprised if the vulnerabilities were used to deploy spyware. Apple learned of the threat from Google’s Threat Analysis Group (TAG), which focuses on countering government-sponsored cyberattacks. Typically, state-sponsored hackers or even government authorities deploy spyware to small groups of high-value targets, such as politicians, human rights activists, and journalists, to prevent the device maker and security researchers from detecting the attack. In this case, the hackers may have been exploiting the vulnerability for some time, since they targeted users running older versions of Apple's mobile OS; iOS 26 launched in September. RECOMMENDED BY OUR EDITORS This Spyware Targeted Samsung Phones Using Malicious Images Hackers Are Targeting Your Smart Home. Here's How to Stop Them Fake Version of Popular Archiver Site Is Distributing Malware, Taking Over PCs Apple didn't say how many users were affected. But it also released a CVE-2026-20700 patch for macOS, visionOS, tvOS, and watchOS. To prevent the most sophisticated hacking threats, Apple offers a Lockdown Mode for its devices, which has been shown to defeat spyware. Apple iPhone owners can update their devices by going to Settings > General > Software Update. The phone can also patch itself automatically if you’ve toggled on automatic updates. About Our Expert Michael Kan Senior Reporter Experience I've been a journalist for over 15 years. I got my start as a schools and cities reporter in Kansas City and joined PCMag in 2017, where I cover satellite internet services, cybersecurity, PC hardware, and more. I'm currently based in San Francisco, but previously spent over five years in China, covering the country's technology sector. Since 2020, I've covered the launch and explosive growth of SpaceX's Starlink satellite internet service, writing 600+ stories on availability and feature launches, but also the regulatory battles over the expansion of satellite constellations, fights with rival providers like AST SpaceMobile and Amazon, and the effort to expand into satellite-based mobile service. I've combed through FCC filings for the latest news and driven to remote corners of California to test Starlink's cellular service. I also cover cyber threats, from ransomware gangs to the emergence of AI-based malware. Earlier this year, the FTC forced Avast to pay consumers $16.5 million for secretly harvesting and selling their personal information to third-party clients, as revealed in my joint investigation with Motherboard. I also cover the PC graphics card market. Pandemic-era shortages led me to camp out in front of a Best Buy to get an RTX 3000. I'm now following how President Trump's tariffs will affect the industry. I'm always eager to learn more, so please jump in the comments with feedback and send me tips. Areas of Expertise Networking Security Graphics Cards Processors AI SpaceX Nvidia AMD Latest By Michael Kan Amazon Leo Hints It'll Open Satellite Internet Tech to Third-Party Antennas This Discord Alternative Reports Sign-Up Surge Amid Age-Verification Backlash Researcher Lands $6,000 Bug Bounty for Finding Starlink Data Leak SpaceX's Plan for 1 Million Satellites Faces Light Pollution Backlash OpenAI Kills GPT-4o, the Model That Praised Everyone to a Fault More from Michael Kan READ FULL BIO ADVERTISEMENT