IcloudApplication · Apple

CVE-2019-8756

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2020-10-27
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 6.0 / 7.14 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
Multiple memory corruption issues were addressed with improved input validation. This issue is fixed in macOS Catalina 10.15, iOS 13, iCloud for Windows 7.14, iCloud for Windows 10.7, tvOS 13, macOS Catalina 10.15.1, Security Update 2019-001, and Security Update 2019-006, watchOS 6, iTunes 12.10.1 for Windows. Multiple issues in libxml2.

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

CVE-2019-8756 is a memory corruption vulnerability in libxml2, a widely-used XML parsing library. Multiple memory corruption issues were addressed with improved input validation. This affects multiple Apple products including macOS, iOS, iCloud for Windows, tvOS, and watchOS.

MitigationApply the relevant security updates for the affected Apple products: macOS Catalina 10.15.1 or Security Update 2019-001/2019-006, iOS 13, tvOS 13, watchOS 6, iCloud for Windows 7.14/10.7, or iTunes 12.10.1 for Windows.

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
WatchosOperating system
Affected:< 6.0

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 macOS version
    Go to Apple menu > About This Mac to view the system version number
    Affected if Version is earlier than 10.15 (Catalina)
  2. Check iTunes version on Windows
    Open iTunes, go to Help > About iTunes to display the version number
    Affected if Version is earlier than 12.10.1
  3. Check iCloud for Windows version
    Open iCloud, click the version number displayed in the about or settings area
    Affected if Version is earlier than 7.14, or version is 10.0 or later but earlier than 10.7
  4. Check tvOS version on Apple TV
    Go to Settings > System > About to view the tvOS version
    Affected if Version is earlier than 13
  5. Check watchOS version on Apple Watch
    Open the Watch app on iPhone, go to General > About to view watchOS version
    Affected if Version is earlier than 6.0

If any of the above products are installed and the detected version falls within the affected ranges, the environment is vulnerable to CVE-2019-8756.

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 6.0 / 7.14 / 10.7 or later
Fixed in 6.07.1410.7
Interim mitigation

Apply the relevant security updates for the affected Apple products: macOS Catalina 10.15.1 or Security Update 2019-001/2019-006, iOS 13, tvOS 13, watchOS 6, iCloud for Windows 7.14/10.7, or iTunes 12.10.1 for Windows.

Recommended fix High confidence

macOS Catalina 10.15+, iOS 13+, tvOS 13+, watchOS 6+, iTunes 12.10.1 for Windows, iCloud for Windows 7.14/10.7+

  1. For macOS users: Upgrade to macOS Catalina 10.15 or later, or apply Security Update 2019-001 or Security Update 2019-006 for earlier macOS versions
  2. For iOS users: Upgrade to iOS 13 or later
  3. For tvOS users: Upgrade to tvOS 13 or later
  4. For watchOS users: Upgrade to watchOS 6 or later
  5. For Windows iTunes users: Upgrade to iTunes 12.10.1 or later
  6. For Windows iCloud users: Upgrade to iCloud for Windows 7.14 (if using version 7.x) or iCloud for Windows 10.7 (if using version 10.x) or later

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

Fix this in Icloud Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
12.0 hours of engineering $2,080
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Scan for this in your stack

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dbcve dependency scanner

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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-2019-8756 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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