CVE-2020-27949
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 · uneditedThis issue was addressed with improved checks to prevent unauthorized actions. This issue is fixed in macOS Big Sur 11.1, Security Update 2020-001 Catalina, Security Update 2020-007 Mojave. A malicious application may cause unexpected changes in memory belonging to processes traced by DTrace.
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 confidenceA vulnerability in macOS DTrace allows a malicious local application to modify memory belonging to processes being traced by DTrace. The issue stems from insufficient authorization checks that allowed unauthorized memory manipulation of traced processes.
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>= 10.14, < 10.14.6>= 10.15, < 10.15.7= 10.14.6= 10.15.7>= 11.0, < 11.1.0CVSS 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
- None
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N
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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Determine macOS versionRun 'sw_vers -productVersion' in Terminal to get the exact macOS version numberAffected if The version is 10.14.x (any version before 10.14.6), 10.15.x (any version before 10.15.7), or 11.0.x (any version before 11.1.0)
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Confirm DTrace availabilityRun 'which dtrace' or 'dtrace -l' in Terminal to verify DTrace is installed and accessible on the systemAffected if DTrace commands execute without error, indicating the tool is present and functional
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Verify DTrace kernel entitlementsRun 'dtrace -l' and check for 'dtrace' kernel module output. Also inspect /var/db/SystemPolicyConfiguration/DTrace.plist if present to see if DTrace is restrictedAffected if DTrace executes successfully without policy restrictions blocking its core functionality
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Assess user privileges for DTraceRun 'groups' or 'id' to see which groups the current user belongs to, then test if DTrace can be invoked without elevated privilegesAffected if The current user can run DTrace commands without being prompted for admin authentication or being denied access due to authorization restrictions
A system is affected if it runs a vulnerable macOS version (10.14.x before 10.14.6, 10.15.x before 10.15.7, or 11.0.x before 11.1.0) AND DTrace is accessible to untrusted local users who could exploit the authorization bypass to manipulate memory of traced processes.
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 data10.14.610.15.711.1.0
Apply the relevant Apple security updates: macOS Big Sur 11.1, Security Update 2020-001 for Catalina, or Security Update 2020-007 for Mojave. Ensure DTrace usage is restricted to trusted, authorized users and processes.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-27949 — 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-2020-27949 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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