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Actively exploited in the wild. This CVE is on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities list — treat remediation as urgent. Federal remediation due by 25 May 2022.
SafariWeb browser · Apple

CVE-2019-8506

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2019-12-18
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 7.11 / 12.1 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
In the wild Remotely reachable No privileges

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 type confusion issue was addressed with improved memory handling. This issue is fixed in iOS 12.2, tvOS 12.2, watchOS 5.2, Safari 12.1, iTunes 12.9.4 for Windows, iCloud for Windows 7.11. Processing maliciously crafted web content may lead to arbitrary code execution.

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

Type confusion vulnerability in WebKit/Safari allowing arbitrary code execution via maliciously crafted web content. The vulnerability stems from improper memory handling during object type processing, potentially enabling an attacker to execute arbitrary code in the context of the affected browser or application.

MitigationApply vendor-supplied patches by updating to iOS 12.2+, tvOS 12.2+, watchOS 5.2+, Safari 12.1+, iTunes 12.9.4 for Windows, or iCloud for Windows 7.11+ as appropriate for each affected system.

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
SafariWeb browser
Affected:< 12.1
Enterprise Linux DesktopOperating system
Affected:= 7.0
Enterprise Linux ServerOperating system
Affected:= 7.0
Enterprise Linux WorkstationOperating system
Affected:= 7.0
IcloudApplication
Affected:< 7.11
ItunesApplication
Affected:< 12.9.4
Iphone OsOperating system
Affected:< 12.2
TvosOperating system
Affected:< 12.2

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
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/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. Check Safari version on macOS
    Open Safari > About Safari, or run 'defaults read /Applications/Safari.app/Contents/Info CFBundleShortVersionString' in Terminal
    Affected if Version is less than 12.1 (e.g., 12.0.x or earlier)
  2. Check iOS version on iPhone/iPad
    Go to Settings > General > About > Version on the iOS device
    Affected if Version is less than 12.2 (e.g., 12.1.x or earlier)
  3. Check tvOS version on Apple TV
    Go to Settings > General > About > Version on the Apple TV device
    Affected if Version is less than 12.2 (e.g., 12.1.x or earlier)
  4. Check iTunes version on Windows or macOS
    Open iTunes > Help > About iTunes, or check the installed version in Programs and Features
    Affected if Version is less than 12.9.4 (e.g., 12.9.3 or earlier)
  5. Check iCloud for Windows version
    Open iCloud > click the gear icon > About iCloud, or check the version in Windows Programs
    Affected if Version is less than 7.11 (e.g., 7.10 or earlier)
  6. Check for WebKit on RHEL 7.0
    Run 'rpm -qa | grep -i webkit' to list webkit-related packages, then check each package version with 'rpm -q <package>'
    Affected if WebKitGTK+ or webkit2gtk packages are installed on RHEL 7.0 (exact version match for 7.0)

If any affected Apple product (Safari, iOS, tvOS, iTunes, iCloud for Windows) has a version lower than the threshold, or WebKit is present on RHEL 7.0, the environment is vulnerable to CVE-2019-8506.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 7.11 / 12.1 / 12.2 or later
Fixed in 7.1112.112.2
Interim mitigation

Apply vendor-supplied patches by updating to iOS 12.2+, tvOS 12.2+, watchOS 5.2+, Safari 12.1+, iTunes 12.9.4 for Windows, or iCloud for Windows 7.11+ as appropriate for each affected system.

Recommended fix High confidence

iOS 12.2+, tvOS 12.2+, watchOS 5.2+, Safari 12.1+, iTunes 12.9.4+, iCloud for Windows 7.11+

  1. For iPhone/iPad: Go to Settings > General > Software Update and install iOS 12.2 or later
  2. For Apple TV: Go to Settings > System > Software Updates and install tvOS 12.2 or later
  3. For Apple Watch: On your iPhone, open the Watch app, go to General > Software Update and install watchOS 5.2 or later
  4. For macOS: Open Safari, go to Safari > About Safari to verify version 12.1 or later is installed, or use Software Update
  5. For Windows with iTunes: Open iTunes, go to Help > Check for Updates and install iTunes 12.9.4 or later
  6. For Windows with iCloud: Open iCloud, go to Help > Check for Updates and install version 7.11 or later
Caveat iOS 12.2 dropped support for iPhone 5s and iPhone 6; watchOS 5.2 dropped support for original Apple Watch

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Safari Exploited in the wild — priority engagement
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
13.0 hours of engineering $2,290
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Scan for this in your stack

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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-2019-8506 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