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Full vulnerability report · 2020
CVE-2020-9859High confidence

Apple Multiple Products Code Execution Vulnerability

Apple · Multiple Products

7.8HighCVSS 3.1
Recommended action
Protect now

CISA confirms exploitation in the wild and lists 2022-05-03 as the remediation due date.

Fix not verified
R
Operational reassessment

Published severity in operational context

Open reassessment dashboard →
Published severityHighOperational priority:Critical, raised one band.upgradedsince 3 Nov 2021

Evidence used

  • CISA confirms exploitation in the wild.
  • Exploitation requires an existing local or physical foothold with privileges.
  • EPSS is 0.83% for the current model date.

Compensating controls

  • Restrict local access and enforce least privilege on affected hosts.
  • Increase monitoring for the attack path and post-exploitation behaviour described in the report.

Verification

  1. Confirm that the asset runs Apple Multiple Products and falls inside the recorded affected range.
  2. Recheck the vendor advisory before scheduling a change because no verified fixed version is currently retained.
  3. Validate exposure, authentication requirements and compensating controls in the actual environment.
  4. Reopen this reassessment when CVSS, KEV, EPSS, exploit evidence or remediation changes.
Mitigation target: Within 3 daysRemediation target: Within 90 days

This automated reassessment organises public evidence. It does not know asset exposure, business impact or control effectiveness and does not replace CVSS or a human risk decision.

Optional official sources

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

Choose official national sources for this report. Each advisory shows its original language. Your selection is remembered on this device and included in shared links.

Official European source

ENISA European Vulnerability Database

Official EUVD identifiers, advisory evidence and known-exploited context. Missing fields are not treated as evidence of low risk.

1 current
ENISA EUVD identifier

EUVD-2020-30638

CISA KEV mirrored by ENISA

A memory consumption issue was addressed with improved memory handling. This issue is fixed in iOS 13.5.1 and iPadOS 13.5.1, macOS Catalina 10.15.5 Supplemental Update, tvOS 13.4.6, watchOS 6.2.6. An application may be able to execute arbitrary code with kernel privileges.

EUVD state
Present in the current official mapping
Known exploitation
Recorded by ENISA since 3 Nov 2021. Evidence sources: cisa_kev.
ENISA score
7.8 · CVSS 3.1
Advisory evidence
No linked advisory details stored yet
Recommended actionProtect now

CISA confirms exploitation in the wild and lists 2022-05-03 as the remediation due date.

Fix not verified
01

What, why and how

Apple iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS contain an unspecified vulnerability that may allow an application to execute code with kernel privileges.

What

Apple iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS contain an unspecified vulnerability that may allow an application to execute code with kernel privileges.

Why

The product calls free() twice on the same memory address.

How

An attacker operating through local access may attempt exploitation with low privileges. If successful, the issue may execute code or commands in the affected security context.

What

Apple iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS contain an unspecified vulnerability that may allow an application to execute code with kernel privileges.

Why

The product calls free() twice on the same memory address.

How

An attacker operating through local access may attempt exploitation with low privileges. If successful, the issue may execute code or commands in the affected security context.

02

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.
Confirmed in the wild

CISA added this CVE to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalogue on 2021-11-03.

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 → Double Free → execute code or commands in the affected security context
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-415 ↗

CWE-415: Double Free. The product calls free() twice on the same memory address.

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:H/I:H/A:H

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.CHighConfidentiality impact: A successful attack can cause a major loss.IHighIntegrity impact: A successful attack can cause a major loss.AHighAvailability impact: A successful attack can cause a major loss.
Post-exploitation / living off the land
After compromise, an attacker may use built-in shells, scripting engines, scheduled tasks and native network utilities for discovery, persistence or movement. This is a plausible LoTL path, not evidence that it has occurred for every attack.
Remote code executionCWE-415CISA KEV
A

Official authority intelligence

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

ENISA EUVD · EUVD-2020-30638Known-exploited evidence recorded

A memory consumption issue was addressed with improved memory handling. This issue is fixed in iOS 13.5.1 and iPadOS 13.5.1, macOS Catalina 10.15.5 Supplemental Update, tvOS 13.4.6, watchOS 6.2.6. An application may be able to execute arbitrary code with kernel privileges.

Official EUVD record ↗
Cyber Security Agency of Singapore · English · CSA-SB-20200610Security Bulletin 10 Jun 2020

The Cyber Security Agency of Singapore included this CVE in its official Security Bulletin 10 Jun 2020, published on 10 June 2020. Open the linked bulletin for the product, severity and reference information published in that issue.

Official advisory ↗
CERT-FR · French · CERTFR-2020-AVI-332Vulnérabilité dans les produits Apple

Une vulnérabilité a été découverte dans les produits Apple. Elle permet à un attaquant de provoquer une exécution de code arbitraire et une élévation de privilèges.

Official advisory ↗
JVN iPedia · Japanese · JVNDB-2020-006180複数の Apple 製品におけるメモリ消費の脆弱性

複数の Apple 製品には、メモリ処理に不備があるため、メモリ消費の脆弱性が存在します。

Official advisory ↗
KISA KrCERT/CC · Korean · KNVD-5144Apple 제품군 보안 업데이트 권고

MacOS, tvOS, watchOS, iOS, iPadOS에서 메모리 처리가 미흡하여 발생하는 임의코드 실행 취약점(CVE-2020-9859) [2][3][4][5]

Official advisory ↗
03

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 13.5.1 and iPadOS 13.5.1
  • macOS: unspecified < macOS Catalina 10.15.5 Supplemental Update
  • tvOS: unspecified < tvOS 13.4.6
  • watchOS: unspecified < watchOS 6.2.6
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.
04

Evidence and provenance

Published 5 Jun 2020 · Last source change 21 Oct 2025, 23:35 UTC · CWE-415 · Double Free

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 2026-08-14
European sourceENISA EUVD · EUVD-2020-30638
Product sourceCISA KEV
Remediation sourceCVE/CNA references
CWE sourceCISA ADP
NVD statusNVD enriched

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

Material change intelligence

What changed after publication

View recent updates ↗
  1. Affected versionsThe structured affected or fixed version information changed.
    Before
    unspecified < iOS 13.5.1 and iPadOS 13.5.1; unspecified < macOS Catalina 10.15.5 Supplemental Update; unspecified < tvOS 13.4.6; unspecified < watchOS 6.2.6 · Fixed: No fixed version is explicitly recorded in the structured CVE data.
    After
    iOS: unspecified < iOS 13.5.1 and iPadOS 13.5.1; macOS: unspecified < macOS Catalina 10.15.5 Supplemental Update; tvOS: unspecified < tvOS 13.4.6; watchOS: unspecified < watchOS 6.2.6 · Fixed: No fixed version is explicitly recorded in the structured CVE data.
    CNA ↗
Material fields only · duplicate refreshes suppressed · history retained for the configured operational retention period
CVE published
Added to CISA KEV
ENISA EUVD · EUVD-2020-30638↗CISA KEV record↗CVE authority or vendor reference↗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.
Free version - for non-commercial use only.CVE-2020-9859 · cve.blacktree.nl