CVE-2019-8657
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 · uneditedAn out-of-bounds read 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. Parsing a maliciously crafted office document may lead to an unexpected application termination or 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 confidenceThis is an out-of-bounds read vulnerability in iOS, macOS, tvOS, and watchOS that occurs during parsing of office documents. The vulnerability allows a specially crafted office document to trigger the out-of-bounds read, potentially leading to application crash or arbitrary code execution. Apple addressed this with improved input validation in the specified 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< 12.4< 10.14.6< 12.4< 5.3CVSS 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
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/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.
-
Identify the Apple device and operating systemDetermine whether the device runs iOS, macOS, tvOS, or watchOS. On iOS/tvOS/watchOS, go to Settings > General > About. On macOS, click the Apple menu > About This Mac.Affected if The device is an iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac, Apple TV, or Apple Watch running an affected OS.
-
Check the installed iOS versionOn iOS devices, go to Settings > General > About and note the Version number. Compare it to the affected range: versions before 12.4 are vulnerable.Affected if iOS version is lower than 12.4 (for example, 12.3.5, 12.3, 12.2, etc.)
-
Check the installed macOS versionOn Mac, click the Apple menu > About This Mac. The version number appears below the macOS name. Compare to the affected range: versions before 10.14.6 are vulnerable.Affected if macOS version is lower than 10.14.6 (for example, 10.14.5, 10.14.4, 10.13.6, etc.)
-
Check the installed tvOS versionOn Apple TV, go to Settings > General > About > Version. Compare to the affected range: versions before 12.4 are vulnerable.Affected if tvOS version is lower than 12.4
-
Check the installed watchOS versionOn Apple Watch, open the Watch app on iPhone, go to General > About, and note the watchOS version. Compare to the affected range: versions before 5.3 are vulnerable.Affected if watchOS version is lower than 5.3
The environment is affected if the device runs any affected Apple OS version (iOS < 12.4, macOS < 10.14.6, tvOS < 12.4, or watchOS < 5.3) and has the capability to parse office documents, which is a built-in OS feature.
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.
From vendor data5.310.14.612.4
Apply the vendor security updates: iOS 12.4+, macOS Mojave 10.14.6+, tvOS 12.4+, and watchOS 5.3+. Avoid opening untrusted office documents from unknown sources until patches are applied.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,144.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2019-8657 — 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-2019-8657 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
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.
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.
- 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