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Iphone OsOperating system · Apple

CVE-2019-8568

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2019-12-18
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 5.2.1 / 10.14.5 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 validation issue existed in the handling of symlinks. This issue was addressed with improved validation of symlinks. This issue is fixed in iOS 12.3, macOS Mojave 10.14.5, tvOS 12.3, watchOS 5.2.1. A local user may be able to modify protected parts of the file system.

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 validation flaw in symlink handling in multiple Apple operating systems (iOS, macOS, tvOS, watchOS) allows a local authenticated user to bypass file system restrictions and modify protected areas of the file system through specially crafted symbolic links.

MitigationApply the vendor-supplied patches: iOS 12.3, macOS Mojave 10.14.5, tvOS 12.3, or watchOS 5.2.1 and later versions.

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:< 12.3
Mac Os XOperating system
Affected:< 10.14.5
TvosOperating system
Affected:< 12.3
WatchosOperating system
Affected:< 5.2.1

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
None
Integrity
High
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/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. Check macOS version
    Run 'sw_vers -productVersion' in Terminal or view About This Mac
    Affected if Version is below 10.14.5
  2. Check iOS version
    Go to Settings > General > About on the device
    Affected if Version is below 12.3
  3. Check tvOS version
    Go to Settings > General > About on the Apple TV
    Affected if Version is below 12.3
  4. Check watchOS version
    Open the Watch app on paired iPhone, go to General > About
    Affected if Version is below 5.2.1

If any Apple operating system (iOS, macOS, tvOS, or watchOS) on the device is running a version lower than 12.3 (iOS/tvOS), 10.14.5 (macOS), or 5.2.1 (watchOS), the system is affected by this symlink validation flaw.

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 5.2.1 / 10.14.5 / 12.3 or later
Fixed in 5.2.110.14.512.3
Interim mitigation

Apply the vendor-supplied patches: iOS 12.3, macOS Mojave 10.14.5, tvOS 12.3, or watchOS 5.2.1 and later versions.

Fix this in Iphone Os Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
5.0 hours of engineering $890
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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-2019-8568 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