CVE-2020-27899
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 · uneditedA use after free issue was addressed with improved memory management. This issue is fixed in iOS 14.2 and iPadOS 14.2, macOS Big Sur 11.0.1, watchOS 7.1, tvOS 14.2. A local attacker may be able to elevate their privileges.
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 confidenceA use-after-free vulnerability in Apple products allowing local privilege escalation. The flaw involves improper memory management where freed memory is accessed after deallocation, potentially enabling an attacker to execute code with elevated privileges.
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< 14.2< 14.2< 11.0.1< 14.2< 7.1CVSS 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
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify your Apple device typeDetermine whether the device is an iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, or Apple TV. This is needed because version thresholds differ by platform.Affected if Device runs any of the affected Apple operating systems.
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Check iOS version on iPhone or iPadGo to Settings > General > About on iPhone or iPad. Note the 'Version' number displayed (for iPad check iPadOS version similarly).Affected if iOS version is below 14.2, or iPadOS version is below 14.2.
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Check macOS version on MacClick the Apple menu > About This Mac. Note the macOS version number displayed (such as 11.0, 10.15, etc).Affected if macOS version is below 11.0.1.
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Check watchOS version on Apple WatchOpen the Watch app on paired iPhone, go to My Watch > General > About. Note the watchOS version.Affected if watchOS version is below 7.1.
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Check tvOS version on Apple TVGo to Settings > General > About > Version on Apple TV. Note the tvOS version number.Affected if tvOS version is below 14.2.
If the installed operating system version falls below the threshold for your device type (iOS/iPadOS < 14.2, macOS < 11.0.1, watchOS < 7.1, tvOS < 14.2), your environment is affected by this use-after-free vulnerability.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 data7.111.0.114.2
Apply vendor patches: update to iOS 14.2+, iPadOS 14.2+, macOS Big Sur 11.0.1+, watchOS 7.1+, or tvOS 14.2+ to resolve the use-after-free memory corruption issue.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-27899 — 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 sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2020-27899 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- 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
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