IcloudApplication · Apple

CVE-2019-8745

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2019-12-18
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 7.14 / 10.7 or later.
See remediation →
95/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges

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 buffer overflow was addressed with improved bounds checking. This issue is fixed in macOS Catalina 10.15, tvOS 13, iTunes for Windows 12.10.1, iCloud for Windows 10.7, iCloud for Windows 7.14. Processing a maliciously crafted text file may lead to 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

A buffer overflow vulnerability in Apple's text file processing functionality allows arbitrary code execution when processing maliciously crafted text files. The issue affects multiple Apple products including macOS, tvOS, iTunes for Windows, and iCloud for Windows.

MitigationApply vendor patches by updating to macOS Catalina 10.15, tvOS 13, iTunes for Windows 12.10.1, or iCloud for Windows 10.7/7.14 or later 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
IcloudApplication
Affected:< 7.14>= 10.0, < 10.7
ItunesApplication
Affected:< 12.10.1
Mac Os XOperating system
Affected:< 10.15
TvosOperating system
Affected:< 13

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
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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify which Apple product is installed
    Check if any of the following Apple applications are installed on the system: macOS (check About This Mac), tvOS (check Apple TV settings), iTunes for Windows (check Help > About iTunes), or iCloud for Windows (check the Windows installed programs list or iCloud app version)
    Affected if Any of these Apple products are installed on the system
  2. Check macOS version
    On Mac systems, open About This Mac from the Apple menu and note the version number displayed (e.g., 10.14.x)
    Affected if The reported macOS version is lower than 10.15 (any version starting with 10.14, 10.13, etc.)
  3. Check tvOS version
    On Apple TV, go to Settings > General > About and note the version number displayed
    Affected if The reported tvOS version is lower than 13 (any version starting with 12.x, 11.x, etc.)
  4. Check iTunes for Windows version
    Open iTunes on Windows, go to Help > About iTunes and note the version number displayed
    Affected if The reported iTunes version is lower than 12.10.1
  5. Check iCloud for Windows version
    Open the iCloud app on Windows, click the gear icon or check the app properties to find the version number, or view it in Windows Programs and Features
    Affected if The reported iCloud for Windows version is lower than 7.14, OR is version 10.0 or higher but lower than 10.7

A user is affected if any installed Apple product (macOS, tvOS, iTunes for Windows, or iCloud for Windows) matches the version ranges listed as vulnerable for that product.

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 7.14 / 10.7 / 10.15 or later
Fixed in 7.1410.710.15
Interim mitigation

Apply vendor patches by updating to macOS Catalina 10.15, tvOS 13, iTunes for Windows 12.10.1, or iCloud for Windows 10.7/7.14 or later versions.

Fix this in Icloud 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
Get the upgrade done

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Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2019-8745 — 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 sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2019-8745 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