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Iphone OsOperating system · Apple

CVE-2019-8504

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2019-12-18
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 10.14.4 / 12.2 or later.
See remediation →
57/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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 memory initialization issue was addressed with improved memory handling. This issue is fixed in iOS 12.2, macOS Mojave 10.14.4. A local user may be able to read kernel memory.

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

A memory initialization vulnerability in iOS 12.2 and macOS Mojave 10.14.4 allows a local authenticated user to read kernel memory due to improper memory handling during initialization, potentially exposing sensitive kernel data.

MitigationApply the vendor-supplied patches by updating to iOS 12.2 or later and macOS Mojave 10.14.4 or later. This is a local vulnerability requiring authenticated local access.

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:< 12.2
Mac Os XOperating system
Affected:< 10.14.4

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
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

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 the operating system
    Determine whether the system is running iOS (iPhone/iPad) or macOS (Mac computer)
    Affected if System is Apple iOS or macOS
  2. Check iOS version
    On iOS device, go to Settings > General > About > Version to view the installed iOS version
    Affected if Installed iOS version is less than 12.2
  3. Check macOS version
    On macOS, click Apple menu > About This Mac > Version to view the installed macOS version
    Affected if Installed macOS version is less than 10.14.4
  4. Determine local access context
    Verify whether local authenticated user accounts exist on the system
    Affected if Local authenticated users can access the system (this is a local privilege escalation flaw)

The environment is affected if the system runs iOS version lower than 12.2 or macOS version lower than 10.14.4, and local authenticated users have access to the device.

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 10.14.4 / 12.2 or later
Fixed in 10.14.412.2
Interim mitigation

Apply the vendor-supplied patches by updating to iOS 12.2 or later and macOS Mojave 10.14.4 or later. This is a local vulnerability requiring authenticated local access.

Fix this in Iphone Os Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
4.0 hours of engineering $750
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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-2019-8504 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