Iphone OsOperating system · Apple

CVE-2019-8618

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2020-10-27
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 5.2 / 10.14.4 or later.
See remediation →
84/100
Remediation priority · High
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 logic issue was addressed with improved restrictions. 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. A sandboxed process may be able to circumvent sandbox restrictions.

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

CVE-2019-8618 is a sandbox escape vulnerability in Apple's iOS, macOS, and watchOS operating systems. The flaw is a logic issue that allows a sandboxed process to circumvent sandbox restrictions, potentially enabling a malicious application to gain unauthorized access to system resources or capabilities outside its intended permission boundaries.

MitigationApply the appropriate security update for the affected Apple product: iOS 12.2, watchOS 5.2, macOS Mojave 10.14.4, or Security Update 2019-002 for High Sierra/Sierra.

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
WatchosOperating system
Affected:< 5.2

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
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
High
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/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 iOS version on iPhone or iPad
    Open Settings app, go to General, tap About, and note the version number displayed next to 'Version'
    Affected if The version shown is less than 12.2 (for example, 12.1.x or earlier)
  2. Check macOS version on Mac computer
    Click the Apple menu in the top-left corner, select 'About This Mac', and view the version number under the macOS name
    Affected if The version is earlier than 10.14.4 (for example, 10.14.3, 10.14.2, etc.)
  3. Check watchOS version on Apple Watch
    Open the Settings app on the Apple Watch, scroll to General, tap About, and read the watchOS version
    Affected if The version displayed is less than 5.2 (for example, 5.1.x or earlier)
  4. Identify if any sandboxed applications are in use
    Note that all applications downloaded from the App Store run in a sandbox by default on iOS and watchOS; on macOS, verify if any third-party applications are installed from outside the Mac App Store
    Affected if Any sandboxed application is present on the device (this is the default state for most applications)

The system is affected if the installed iOS version is below 12.2, macOS version is below 10.14.4, or watchOS version is below 5.2, regardless of which sandboxed application is running.

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 / 10.14.4 / 12.2 or later
Fixed in 5.210.14.412.2
Interim mitigation

Apply the appropriate security update for the affected Apple product: iOS 12.2, watchOS 5.2, macOS Mojave 10.14.4, or Security Update 2019-002 for High Sierra/Sierra.

Fix this in Iphone Os Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,200
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Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

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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-2019-8618 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