CVE-2019-8531
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 · uneditedA validation issue existed in Trust Anchor Management. This issue was addressed with improved validation. This issue is fixed in watchOS 5.2, macOS Mojave 10.14.4, Security Update 2019-002 High Sierra, Security Update 2019-002 Sierra, iOS 12.2. An untrusted radius server certificate may be trusted.
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 · high confidenceA validation bypass in Trust Anchor Management allows untrusted RADIUS server certificates to be incorrectly trusted, potentially enabling man-in-the-middle attacks on RADIUS authentication by accepting malicious certificates as valid.
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< 12.2< 10.14.4< 5.2CVSS 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
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check iOS version on iPhoneGo to Settings > General > About and note the Version number (e.g., 12.1.x)Affected if Version is below 12.2 and the device uses RADIUS authentication for network access
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Check macOS versionClick Apple menu > About This Mac and note the macOS version (e.g., 10.14.3)Affected if Version is below 10.14.4 and the Mac uses RADIUS authentication for network login or 802.1X
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Check watchOS version on Apple WatchOpen the Watch app on paired iPhone, go to General > About and note the watchOS versionAffected if Version is below 5.2 and the Apple Watch authenticates via RADIUS-enabled networks
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Verify RADIUS authentication is configuredOn iOS: check for RADIUS client profiles in Settings > General > Profile. On macOS: check System Preferences > Network > Advanced > 802.1X for enabled RADIUS serversAffected if A RADIUS server configuration exists and the OS version is in the affected range
You are affected if your device runs an unpatched iOS below 12.2, macOS below 10.14.4, or watchOS below 5.2 AND has RADIUS authentication configured for network or system access.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 · scoped5.210.14.412.2
Apply the relevant vendor patch: iOS 12.2, watchOS 5.2, macOS Mojave 10.14.4, or Security Update 2019-002 for High Sierra/Sierra.
iOS 12.2+ | macOS 10.14.4+ (or Security Update 2019-002 for older macOS) | watchOS 5.2+
- Identify the affected Apple device (iPhone, Mac, or Apple Watch)
- For iPhone/iPad: Go to Settings > General > Software Update and upgrade to iOS 12.2 or later
- For Mac: Go to System Preferences > Software Update and upgrade to macOS Mojave 10.14.4 or later, or apply Security Update 2019-002 for High Sierra/Sierra
- For Apple Watch: Open the Watch app on paired iPhone, go to General > Software Update, and upgrade to watchOS 5.2 or later
- After updating, verify the new version is installed
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2019-8531 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2019-8531 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- 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
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