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Iphone OsOperating system · Apple

CVE-2019-8662

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
This issue was addressed with improved checks. This issue is fixed in iOS 12.4, macOS Mojave 10.14.6, tvOS 12.4, watchOS 5.3. An attacker may be able to trigger a use-after-free in an application deserializing an untrusted NSDictionary.

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 use-after-free vulnerability exists in NSDictionary deserialization in Apple iOS, macOS, tvOS, and watchOS. An attacker can trigger memory corruption by deserializing a maliciously crafted NSDictionary, potentially leading to arbitrary code execution.

MitigationApply the vendor-supplied updates (iOS 12.4+, macOS Mojave 10.14.6+, tvOS 12.4+, watchOS 5.3+) to all affected devices. Additionally, ensure applications do not deserialize NSDictionary objects from untrusted sources.

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. Check iOS version on iPhone or iPad
    Go to Settings > General > About > Version, or use Xcode device information, or check via MDM/mobile device management inventory
    Affected if Version is lower than 12.4 (e.g., 12.3.x or earlier)
  2. Check macOS version on Mac computers
    Click Apple menu > About This Mac, or run 'sw_vers' in Terminal, or check via MDM/jamf Pro
    Affected if Version is lower than 10.14.6 (e.g., 10.14.5 or earlier)
  3. Check tvOS version on Apple TV
    Go to Settings > General > About > Version, or check via Apple Configurator or MDM
    Affected if Version is lower than 12.4 (e.g., 12.3.x or earlier)
  4. Check watchOS version on Apple Watch
    Open Watch app on paired iPhone > General > About, or check via Apple Configurator or MDM
    Affected if Version is lower than 5.3 (e.g., 5.2.x or earlier)
  5. Identify applications that deserialize NSDictionary from untrusted sources
    Review application code for use of NSKeyedUnarchiver, NSUnarchiver, or custom deserialization of NSDictionary from network inputs, files from external sources, or third-party data
    Affected if Any application deserializes NSDictionary objects from untrusted or network sources on a vulnerable OS version

You are affected if any Apple device (iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, or Apple Watch) runs an OS version below the listed thresholds (iOS 12.4, macOS 10.14.6, tvOS 12.4, watchOS 5.3) and deserializes NSDictionary from untrusted sources.

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 updates (iOS 12.4+, macOS Mojave 10.14.6+, tvOS 12.4+, watchOS 5.3+) to all affected devices. Additionally, ensure applications do not deserialize NSDictionary objects from untrusted sources.

Recommended fix High confidence

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

  1. Upgrade iPhone devices to iOS 12.4 or later
  2. Upgrade Mac computers to macOS Mojave 10.14.6 or later
  3. Upgrade Apple TV devices to tvOS 12.4 or later
  4. Upgrade Apple Watch devices to watchOS 5.3 or later
  5. After upgrading, verify the OS version in Settings > General > About (iOS) or System Preferences > About (macOS)
Caveat Some legacy applications or features may not be supported in newer point releases; ensure critical apps are compatible 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
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
9.0 hours of engineering $1,600
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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-2019-8662 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