dbcve.org
Iphone OsOperating system · Apple

CVE-2019-8648

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2019-12-18
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 5.3 / 10.14.6 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 memory corruption issue was addressed with improved input validation. This issue is fixed in iOS 12.4, macOS Mojave 10.14.6, tvOS 12.4, watchOS 5.3. 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

Memory corruption vulnerability in Apple iOS, macOS, tvOS, and watchOS that allowed remote attackers to achieve arbitrary code execution through specially crafted input. The issue was addressed with improved input validation.

MitigationApply the vendor-supplied security updates: iOS 12.4 or later, macOS Mojave 10.14.6 or later, tvOS 12.4 or later, and watchOS 5.3 or later.

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:< 12.4
Mac Os XOperating system
Affected:< 10.14.6
TvosOperating system
Affected:< 12.4
WatchosOperating system
Affected:< 5.3

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. Identify the Apple device operating system
    Determine whether the device runs iOS, macOS, tvOS, or watchOS. For iOS/tvOS check Settings > General > About. For macOS click the Apple menu > About This Mac. For watchOS use the Watch app on paired iPhone > My Watch > General > About.
    Affected if The device runs any of the affected Apple operating systems (iOS, macOS, tvOS, or watchOS)
  2. Check iOS version
    On iPhone or iPad, go to Settings > General > About and note the version number displayed next to 'Version'.
    Affected if The iOS version is less than 12.4 (for example, 12.3.x or earlier)
  3. Check macOS version
    Click the Apple menu in the top-left corner of the screen, select 'About This Mac', and note the version number displayed (such as 10.14.5, 10.14.4, etc.).
    Affected if The macOS version is less than 10.14.6 (for example, 10.14.5 or earlier)
  4. Check tvOS version
    On Apple TV, go to Settings > General > About and note the version number displayed next to 'Version'.
    Affected if The tvOS version is less than 12.4 (for example, 12.3.x or earlier)
  5. Check watchOS version
    Open the Watch app on the paired iPhone, navigate to My Watch > General > About, and note the version number displayed.
    Affected if The watchOS version is less than 5.3 (for example, 5.2.x or earlier)

A system is affected if it runs iOS, macOS, tvOS, or watchOS with a version number below the corresponding fixed version (iOS/tvOS < 12.4, watchOS < 5.3, macOS < 10.14.6).

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 5.3 / 10.14.6 / 12.4 or later
Fixed in 5.310.14.612.4
Interim mitigation

Apply the vendor-supplied security updates: iOS 12.4 or later, macOS Mojave 10.14.6 or later, tvOS 12.4 or later, and watchOS 5.3 or later.

Recommended fix High confidence

iOS 12.4, macOS Mojave 10.14.6, tvOS 12.4, watchOS 5.3

  1. For iPhone and iPad users: Upgrade to iOS 12.4 or later by going to Settings > General > Software Update
  2. For Mac users: Upgrade to macOS Mojave 10.14.6 or later by going to System Preferences > Software Update
  3. For Apple TV users: Upgrade to tvOS 12.4 or later by going to Settings > System > Software Updates
  4. For Apple Watch users: Upgrade to watchOS 5.3 or later using the Watch app on your iPhone
Caveat Standard OS upgrade considerations apply - ensure device compatibility before upgrading

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

Fix this in Iphone Os Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
16.0 hours of engineering $2,800
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,480.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2019-8648 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2019-8648 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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