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Actively exploited in the wild. This CVE is on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities list — treat remediation as urgent. Federal remediation due by 3 May 2022.
IcloudApplication · Apple

CVE-2020-27932

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2020-12-08
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 5.3.9 / 6.2.9 or later.
See remediation →
97/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
In the wild Public exploit 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 type confusion issue was addressed with improved state handling. This issue is fixed in macOS Big Sur 11.0.1, watchOS 7.1, iOS 12.4.9, watchOS 6.2.9, Security Update 2020-006 High Sierra, Security Update 2020-006 Mojave, iOS 14.2 and iPadOS 14.2, watchOS 5.3.9, macOS Catalina 10.15.7 Supplemental Update, macOS Catalina 10.15.7 Update. A malicious application may be able to execute arbitrary code with kernel 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 · high confidence

Type confusion vulnerability in the macOS/iOS/watchOS kernel (likely in IOKit or a core driver) that allows a malicious application to execute arbitrary code with kernel privileges. The issue was addressed with improved state handling in the affected components.

MitigationApply the appropriate Apple security update for the affected product version: macOS Big Sur 11.0.1+, Catalina 10.15.7+, Security Update 2020-006 for High Sierra/Mojave, iOS 14.2+/iPadOS 14.2+, iOS 12.4.9+, or watchOS 7.1+/6.2.9+/5.3.9+.

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:< 11.5
ItunesApplication
Affected:< 12.11
IpadosOperating system
Affected:< 14.2
Iphone OsOperating system
Affected:< 12.4.9>= 14.0, < 14.2
Mac Os XOperating system
Affected:< 10.15.7
macOSOperating system
Affected:>= 11.0, < 11.0.1
WatchosOperating system
Affected:< 5.3.9>= 6.0, < 6.2.9>= 7.0, < 7.1

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
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/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. Check macOS version on Mac computers
    Run 'sw_vers' in Terminal or view System Preferences > About. Look at the version number (e.g., 10.15.7, 11.0.0)
    Affected if Version is 10.15.7 or lower, OR between 11.0.0 and 11.0.1 (exclusive)
  2. Check iOS version on iPhone
    Open Settings > General > About on the device and note the version number
    Affected if Version is 12.4.9 or lower, OR between 14.0.0 and 14.2.0 (exclusive)
  3. Check iPadOS version on iPad
    Open Settings > General > About on the device and note the version number
    Affected if Version is 14.2.0 or lower
  4. Check watchOS version on Apple Watch
    Open the Watch app on paired iPhone, go to My Watch > General > About, and note the version
    Affected if Version is 5.3.9 or lower, OR between 6.0.0 and 6.2.9 (exclusive), OR between 7.0.0 and 7.1.0 (exclusive)
  5. Check iTunes version on Windows or older macOS
    Open iTunes > Help > About iTunes and note the version number
    Affected if Version is 12.11.0 or lower
  6. Check iCloud for Windows version
    Open iCloud > Help > About iCloud and note the version number, or check Programs and Features in Control Panel
    Affected if Version is 11.5.0 or lower

You are affected if any Apple operating system or application on your device matches the version ranges above; the vulnerability is in the kernel and requires no special configuration to be exploitable.

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 5.3.9 / 6.2.9 / 7.1 or later
Fixed in 5.3.96.2.97.1
Interim mitigation

Apply the appropriate Apple security update for the affected product version: macOS Big Sur 11.0.1+, Catalina 10.15.7+, Security Update 2020-006 for High Sierra/Mojave, iOS 14.2+/iPadOS 14.2+, iOS 12.4.9+, or watchOS 7.1+/6.2.9+/5.3.9+.

Recommended fix High confidence

iOS 14.2/iPadOS 14.2 (or iOS 12.4.9 for older devices), macOS 11.0.1 or later, macOS Catalina 10.15.7+, watchOS 7.1, or Security Update 2020-006

  1. Identify the Apple device type (iPhone, iPad, Mac, or Apple Watch) that needs patching
  2. Determine the current installed version via Settings > General > About (iOS/iPadOS) or System Preferences > About (macOS)
  3. For iPhone/iPad: Upgrade to iOS 14.2/iPadOS 14.2 if device supports iOS 14, otherwise upgrade to iOS 12.4.9
  4. For Mac running macOS Big Sur (11.x): Upgrade to macOS 11.0.1 or later
  5. For Mac running macOS Catalina (10.15.x): Apply Security Update 2020-006 or macOS Catalina 10.15.7 Update/Supplemental Update
  6. For Apple Watch: Upgrade to watchOS 7.1 if on watchOS 7.x, or watchOS 6.2.9 if on watchOS 6.x, or watchOS 5.3.9 if on watchOS 5.x
  7. For older Macs (High Sierra/Mojave): Apply Security Update 2020-006 for the respective macOS version
  8. Restart the device after upgrading to ensure the kernel patch is fully applied
Caveat Upgrading to iOS 14.2 may drop support for older iPhones (iPhone 6/6s/SE 1st gen not supported); upgrading macOS may require migration to newer macOS for older hardware

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

Fix this in Icloud Exploited in the wild — priority engagement
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation3.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
8.0 hours of engineering $1,420
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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-2020-27932 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