Iphone OsOperating system · Apple

CVE-2019-6219

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.0 Published 2019-03-05
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 5.1.3 / 10.14.3 or later.
See remediation →
84/100
Remediation priority · High
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
A denial of service issue was addressed with improved validation. This issue is fixed in iOS 12.1.3, macOS Mojave 10.14.3, watchOS 5.1.3. Processing a maliciously crafted message may lead to a denial of service.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · moderate confidence

This is a denial of service vulnerability in Apple's message processing components across iOS, macOS, and watchOS. The vulnerability allows a remote attacker to cause a DoS condition by sending a maliciously crafted message to a targeted device. The fix was implemented through improved input validation.

MitigationApply the vendor-supplied patches by updating iOS devices to 12.1.3 or later, macOS devices to Mojave 10.14.3 or later, and watchOS devices to 5.1.3 or later.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
Iphone OsOperating system
Affected:< 12.1.3
Mac Os XOperating system
Affected:< 10.14.3
WatchosOperating system
Affected:< 5.1.3

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify your Apple device type
    Determine whether the device is an iPhone/iPad/iPod (iOS), a Mac (macOS), or an Apple Watch (watchOS). This will determine which OS version to check.
    Affected if Device runs iOS, macOS, or watchOS and processes messages
  2. Check installed iOS version on iPhone or iPad
    Go to Settings > General > About on the device and note the version number displayed next to 'Version'. Compare this to the affected range: anything below 12.1.3 is vulnerable.
    Affected if iOS version is lower than 12.1.3
  3. Check installed macOS version on Mac
    Click the Apple menu > About This Mac. The version number appears below the macOS name (such as Mojave). Compare to the affected range: anything below 10.14.3 is vulnerable.
    Affected if macOS version is lower than 10.14.3
  4. Check installed watchOS version on Apple Watch
    Open the Watch app on your paired iPhone, go to My Watch > General > About, and note the watchOS version. Compare to the affected range: anything below 5.1.3 is vulnerable.
    Affected if watchOS version is lower than 5.1.3
  5. Confirm messaging feature is in use
    Verify that iMessage (on iOS/macOS) or the Messages app is enabled and configured on the device. On iOS: Settings > Messages is turned on. On macOS: Open Messages app and ensure an account is signed in.
    Affected if iMessage or Messages is enabled and active on the device

You are affected if your device runs an unpatched iOS version below 12.1.3, macOS below 10.14.3, or watchOS below 5.1.3, and you have messaging services enabled.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

From vendor data
Upgrade available Upgrade to 5.1.3 / 10.14.3 / 12.1.3 or later
Fixed in 5.1.310.14.312.1.3
Interim mitigation

Apply the vendor-supplied patches by updating iOS devices to 12.1.3 or later, macOS devices to Mojave 10.14.3 or later, and watchOS devices to 5.1.3 or later.

Fix this in Iphone Os Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
3.0 hours of engineering $750
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Scan for this in your stack

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dbcve dependency scanner

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2019-6219 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data