dbcve.org
Airport Base Station FirmwareOperating system · Apple

CVE-2019-8572

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2020-10-27
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 7.8.1 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
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 null pointer dereference was addressed with improved input validation. This issue is fixed in AirPort Base Station Firmware Update 7.8.1, AirPort Base Station Firmware Update 7.9.1. A remote attacker may be able to cause 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 · high confidence

A null pointer dereference vulnerability in Apple AirPort Base Station firmware allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code due to improper input validation. The vulnerability is exploitable without authentication over the network.

MitigationUpdate AirPort Base Station firmware to version 7.9.1 (or at minimum 7.8.1) to remediate the vulnerability.

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
Airport Base Station FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< 7.8.1

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
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 checks

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

  1. Confirm you have an AirPort Base Station
    Identify if any Apple AirPort Base Station hardware (including Express, Extreme, or Time Capsule) is present on your network. These are wireless routers manufactured by Apple.
    Affected if You have any AirPort Base Station device connected to your network
  2. Access the device administration interface
    Open AirPort Utility (available on macOS or iOS) and select the AirPort Base Station, or navigate to the device's IP address in a web browser. The default address is often http://applewifi.local or http://192.168.1.1.
    Affected if You can access the AirPort administration interface
  3. Locate the firmware version information
    In AirPort Utility, click on the AirPort Base Station and view the version number displayed in the device summary. In the web interface, look under Base Station > Summary or a similar section labeled Firmware Version or Software Version.
    Affected if You cannot locate or do not have access to firmware version information
  4. Compare your firmware version against the affected range
    Note the installed firmware version number (for example, it may appear as 7.7.9 or 7.8.1). Compare this version to the affected range: any version lower than 7.8.1 is vulnerable.
    Affected if The installed firmware version is below 7.8.1 (for example, 7.7.x, 7.6.x, or any earlier version)
  5. Verify the device is network-accessible
    Confirm the AirPort Base Station is powered on and reachable over the network. The vulnerability is exploitable remotely without authentication, so an accessible device on the network is required for exploitation.
    Affected if The AirPort Base Station is powered on and connected to your network

You are affected if you have an Apple AirPort Base Station with firmware version lower than 7.8.1 that is accessible on your network.

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 7.8.1 or later
Fixed in 7.8.1
Interim mitigation

Update AirPort Base Station firmware to version 7.9.1 (or at minimum 7.8.1) to remediate the vulnerability.

Recommended fix High confidence

AirPort Base Station Firmware 7.9.1

  1. Open AirPort Utility on a Mac or PC connected to the same network as the AirPort Base Station
  2. Select the AirPort Base Station from the device list
  3. Click on the Base Station and select "Manual Setup"
  4. Navigate to the "Base Station" or "Administration" tab
  5. Check for firmware updates or look for the current firmware version
  6. If an update is available, select "Update" or "Yes" to download and install the latest firmware
  7. Wait for the firmware to download and install - do not power off the Base Station during this process
  8. After the update completes, verify the firmware version shows 7.9.1

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

Fix this in Airport Base Station Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,090
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,744.

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-2019-8572 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