CVE-2019-8568: A validation issue existed in the handling of symlinks

Recommended actionScheduled

Medium technical severity with no CISA KEV confirmation; remediate through the normal risk-based patch cycle unless local exposure raises the priority.

Fix not verified

What, why and how

A validation issue existed in the handling of symlinks. This issue was addressed with improved validation of symlinks. This issue is fixed in iOS 12.3, macOS Mojave 10.14.5, tvOS 12.3, watchOS 5.2.1. A local user may be able to modify protected parts of the file system.

What

Why

The product attempts to access a file based on the filename, but it does not properly prevent that filename from identifying a link or shortcut that resolves to an unintended resource.

How

An attacker operating through local access may attempt exploitation with low privileges. If successful, the issue may cause the confidentiality, integrity or availability impact described by the vendor.

What

Why

The product attempts to access a file based on the filename, but it does not properly prevent that filename from identifying a link or shortcut that resolves to an unintended resource.

How

Exploit reality and attack path

CVSS severity, EPSS forecast probability, public exploit material and CISA-confirmed exploitation are separate signals.

Observed exploitation

Confirmed exploitation and public exploit material are separate signals. Attacks can occur without public proof-of-concept or exploit code.

No confirmed evidence

No CISA KEV match was present at the last successful refresh. This means no confirmation from that source, not proof of no exploitation.

Public PoC / exploit material

Confirmed exploitation and public exploit material are separate signals. Attacks can occur without public proof-of-concept or exploit code.

None recorded

No exploit-tagged reference or CISA SSVC proof-of-concept state is currently recorded. Research may still exist outside the structured feeds.

Likely attack path: local access → Improper Link Resolution Before File Access ('Link Following') → cause the confidentiality, integrity or availability impact described by the vendor
Attack surface: Local
Privileges required: Low: a basic authenticated account is required
User interaction: None
Attack complexity: Low: no specialised conditions are recorded
Security boundary: Unchanged: impact remains within the vulnerable component's security authority
Weakness ? CWE means Common Weakness Enumeration: a standard category for the underlying weakness.: CWE-59 ↗
CWE-59: Improper Link Resolution Before File Access ('Link Following'). The product attempts to access a file based on the filename, but it does not properly prevent that filename from identifying a link or shortcut that resolves to an unintended resource.
CVSS vector ? CVSS means Common Vulnerability Scoring System. The vector records the metric values used to calculate technical severity.: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N
Common Vulnerability Scoring System 3.1: the compact vector below is decoded into plain language.
AVLocalAttack vector: The attacker needs local access to the vulnerable system.ACLowAttack complexity: No specialised conditions are required beyond attacker-controlled input.PRLowPrivileges required: The attacker needs basic user-level privileges.UINoneUser interaction: No action by another user is required.SUnchangedScope: The security impact remains within the vulnerable component's authority.CNoneConfidentiality impact: No direct loss is represented by this metric.IHighIntegrity impact: A successful attack can cause a major loss.ANoneAvailability impact: No direct loss is represented by this metric.
Post-exploitation / living off the land: The issue can support a local privilege or sandbox boundary transition; normal system utilities may then be available in the gained context.

CWE-59

Official authority intelligence

Only matched European and national findings are included. Language selectors and unavailable sources are omitted.

ENISA EUVD · EUVD-2019-17958Official EUVD mapping

0 linked advisory records.

Official EUVD record ↗

CERT-FR · French · CERTFR-2019-AVI-204Multiples vulnérabilités dans les produits Apple

Bulletin de sécurité Apple HT210122 du 13 mai 2019 https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT210122 Bulletin de sécurité Apple HT210123 du 13 mai 2019 https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT210123 Référence CVE CVE-2017-14315 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2017-14315 Référence CVE CVE-2017-6975 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2017-6975 Référence CVE CVE-2017-9417 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2017-9417 Référence CVE CVE-2018-4456 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2018-4456 Référence CVE CVE-2019-6237 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2019-6237 Référence CVE CVE-2019-8560 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2019-8560 Référence CVE CVE-2019-8568 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2019-8568 Référence CVE CVE-2019-8569 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2019-8569 Référence CVE CVE-2019-8571 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2019-8571 Référence CVE CVE-2019-8574 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2019-8574 Référence CVE CVE-2019-8576 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2019-8576 Référence CVE CVE-2019-8577 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2019-8577 Référence CVE CVE-2019-8583 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2019-8583 Référence CVE CVE-2019-8584 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2019-8584 Référence CVE CVE-2019-8585 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2019-8585 Ré

Official advisory ↗

JVN iPedia · Japanese · JVNDB-2019-003317複数の Apple 製品における脆弱性に対するアップデート

Apple から各製品向けのアップデートが公開されました。

Official advisory ↗

Patch and workaround

Operational remediation based on structured source evidence.

Status ? Patch availability is based on structured fixed-version fields and authoritative update references. If no fix is verified, check the vendor advisory before making a change.: Fix not verified
Affected: iOS: unspecified < iOS 12.3
macOS: unspecified < macOS Mojave 10.14.5
tvOS: unspecified < tvOS 12.3
watchOS: unspecified < watchOS 5.2.1
Fixed: No fixed version is explicitly recorded in the structured CVE data.
Action: No verified patch reference is present in the current structured sources. Check the vendor advisory before making a change.
Workaround: No verified workaround is recorded. Limit untrusted access and use least privilege until authoritative guidance is available.

Evidence and provenance

Published 18 Dec 2019 · Last source change 4 Aug 2024, 21:24 UTC · CWE-59 · Improper Link Resolution Before File Access ('Link Following')

CVE recordCVE.org · 5.1

CVSS sourceNIST NVD

EPSS source

The date BlackTree first stored a score for this CVE from the daily FIRST EPSS feed.

FIRST · tracked since 2026-09-01

European sourceENISA EUVD · EUVD-2019-17958

Product sourceCNA

Remediation sourceCVE/CNA references

CWE sourceNIST NVD

NVD statusNVD modified after enrichment

Core structured fields are present and their contributing authorities are shown above.

Material change intelligence

What changed after publication

View recent updates ↗

1 Sep 2026, 02:42 UTC
ENISA EUVD mappingEUVD-2019-17958 was added to the official ENISA EUVD mapping for this CVE.
Before
not recorded
After
{"euvdId":"EUVD-2019-17958"}
ENISA EUVD ↗
4 Aug 2024, 21:24 UTC
Vendor guidanceAuthoritative vendor guidance changed: added vendor advisory: support.apple.com/HT210118; added vendor advisory: support.apple.com/HT210119; 2 further additions.
Before
no authoritative guidance recorded
After
vendor advisory: support.apple.com/HT210118 · vendor advisory: support.apple.com/HT210119 · vendor advisory: support.apple.com/HT210120 · 1 more references
support.apple.com ↗
4 Aug 2024, 21:24 UTC
SeveritySeverity changed from Unknown to Medium.
Before
Unknown
After
Medium
NIST NVD ↗
4 Aug 2024, 21:24 UTC
CVSS scoreCVSS score changed from not recorded to 5.5 (CVSS 3.1 · NIST NVD · CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N).
Before
not recorded
After
5.5 (CVSS 3.1 · NIST NVD · CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N)
NIST NVD ↗
4 Aug 2024, 21:24 UTC
Catalogue recordCVE added to the BlackTree catalogue.
CNA ↗

2019-12-18CVE published

ENISA EUVD · EUVD-2019-17958↗CVE authority or vendor reference↗Vendor advisory↗Vendor advisory↗Vendor advisory↗Official CVE record (CNA and ADP data)↗NVD record↗

Technical terms and abbreviations used in this report

CVE: Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures: the public identifier for one disclosed vulnerability.
CVSS: Common Vulnerability Scoring System: a technical severity framework; it is not patching priority by itself.
EPSS: Exploit Prediction Scoring System: FIRST's estimate of the probability that exploitation activity will be observed in the next 30 days; it is a forecast, not confirmation.
CWE: Common Weakness Enumeration: the standard category describing the underlying software or hardware weakness.
CNA: CVE Numbering Authority: an organisation authorised to assign and publish CVE records.
CISA ADP: Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Authorized Data Publisher: structured enrichment added to a CVE record.
NVD: National Vulnerability Database: NIST's enrichment service for CVE records.
CERT / CSIRT: A computer security incident response team that publishes warnings or coordinates incident response.
PoC: Proof of concept: public material that demonstrates or helps reproduce exploitation.
CSAF: Common Security Advisory Framework: a machine-readable format for security advisories.
LoTL: Living off the land: abuse of legitimate tools or system functions during an attack.

A validation issue existed in the handling of symlinks

Published severity in operational context

Evidence used

Compensating controls

Verification

National CERT insights
?
CERT means Computer Emergency Response Team; CSIRT is the closely related term Computer Security Incident Response Team.

ENISA European Vulnerability Database

EUVD-2019-17958