Swiftnio SslApplication · Apple

CVE-2019-8849

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2019-12-18
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 2.4.1 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
The issue was addressed by signaling that an executable stack is not required. This issue is fixed in SwiftNIO SSL 2.4.1. A SwiftNIO application using TLS may be able to execute arbitrary code.

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 · moderate confidence

A critical memory corruption vulnerability in SwiftNIO SSL allows arbitrary code execution via TLS connections. The flaw was remediated by addressing executable stack requirements in the library's compiled components. This affects any SwiftNIO application using TLS functionality.

MitigationUpgrade SwiftNIO SSL to version 2.4.1 or later to address the executable stack vulnerability that enables arbitrary code execution.

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
Swiftnio SslApplication
Affected:< 2.4.1

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
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. Identify SwiftNIO SSL package version
    Check your project's Package.swift, Package.resolved, or your dependency manager lock file (e.g., Package.resolved for Swift Package Manager, Podfile.lock for CocoaPods, or Cartfile.resolved for Carthage) for the swift-nio-ssl version number
    Affected if The listed version is lower than 2.4.1 (e.g., 2.4.0, 2.3.0, etc.)
  2. Locate SwiftNIO SSL in dependencies
    Search your project for 'NIOSSL' imports in source files, or grep for 'swift-nio-ssl' in your dependency configuration files
    Affected if SwiftNIO SSL is declared as a dependency in your project
  3. Verify TLS usage in application
    Search source code for NIOSSL-specific configuration such as 'try NIOSSLServerConfiguration', 'try NIOSSLClientConfiguration', 'NIOSSLContext', or calls to 'applyTLS' methods
    Affected if Your application configures or uses TLS through SwiftNIO SSL APIs (the vulnerability only applies when TLS functionality is actively used)

You are affected if your installed SwiftNIO SSL version is below 2.4.1 AND your application uses SwiftNIO's TLS/SSL functionality for handling encrypted connections.

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 2.4.1 or later
Fixed in 2.4.1
Interim mitigation

Upgrade SwiftNIO SSL to version 2.4.1 or later to address the executable stack vulnerability that enables arbitrary code execution.

Recommended fix High confidence

SwiftNIO SSL 2.4.1

  1. Update the SwiftNIO SSL dependency in your project to version 2.4.1 or later
  2. If using Swift Package Manager, update the Package.swift dependency specification to specify swift-nio-ssl version 2.4.1 or higher
  3. Rebuild and test the application to verify the upgrade does not introduce regressions
  4. Redeploy the updated application

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

Fix this in Swiftnio Ssl Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
9.0 hours of engineering $1,540
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,464.

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-2019-8849 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