dbcve.org
SafariWeb browser · Apple

CVE-2019-8725

MEDIUM · 5.3 CVSS v3.1 Published 2019-12-18
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 13.0.1 or later.
See remediation →
62/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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
The issue was addressed with improved handling of service worker lifetime. This issue is fixed in Safari 13.0.1. Service workers may leak private browsing history.

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

In Safari, service workers were not properly terminated when ending a private browsing session, causing private browsing history to leak. The service worker lifetime handling was improved to ensure proper cleanup.

MitigationUpdate Safari to version 13.0.1 or later. For web applications, avoid storing sensitive data in service workers when private browsing may be used.

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
SafariWeb browser
Affected:< 13.0.1

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
Low
Integrity
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/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 Safari version
    Open Safari and go to Safari > About Safari, or run: defaults read /Applications/Safari.app/Contents/Info CFBundleShortVersionString
    Affected if Version is earlier than 13.0.1
  2. Confirm private browsing usage
    Determine if you use Safari private browsing mode by looking for File > New Private Window sessions or the private browsing icon in the toolbar
    Affected if Private browsing mode is used with an affected Safari version
  3. Check for service worker activity
    In Safari, go to Developer > Show Storage Inspector and examine if any service workers were registered and stored data, particularly during private browsing sessions
    Affected if Service workers were active during private browsing sessions in an affected Safari version

You are affected if Safari is earlier than 13.0.1 AND you have used private browsing mode with active service workers, as these may not have been properly terminated.

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 13.0.1 or later
Fixed in 13.0.1
Interim mitigation

Update Safari to version 13.0.1 or later. For web applications, avoid storing sensitive data in service workers when private browsing may be used.

Fix this in Safari Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
5.0 hours of engineering $890
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,424.

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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-2019-8725 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