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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.
IpadosOperating system · Apple

CVE-2020-27950

MEDIUM · 5.5 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 memory initialization issue was addressed. 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 disclose kernel memory.

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

This is a kernel memory initialization vulnerability in multiple Apple operating systems (macOS, iOS, watchOS). The issue allows a malicious local application to read kernel memory due to improper memory initialization, potentially exposing sensitive kernel data structures.

MitigationApply the appropriate Apple security updates (Security Update 2020-006, iOS 14.2, iPadOS 14.2, watchOS updates, or macOS updates) to all affected devices. This is a local privilege escalation vulnerability requiring a malicious application to be already running on the device.

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
IpadosOperating system
Affected:< 14.2
Iphone OsOperating system
Affected:< 12.4.9>= 14.0, < 14.2
macOSOperating system
Affected:< 10.15.7>= 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
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Check iOS version on iPhone or iPad
    Go to Settings > General > About > Version, or use the command: idevicesyslog 2>/dev/null | grep -i 'os version' or check via Apple Configurator or Finder when device is connected
    Affected if Version is below 12.4.9, or between 14.0 and 14.2 (excluding 14.2)
  2. Check iPadOS version on iPad
    Go to Settings > General > About > Version, or connect to Finder/Apple Configurator to retrieve the version
    Affected if Version is below 14.2 (any version < 14.2)
  3. Check macOS version
    Run 'sw_vers' in Terminal, or go to Apple menu > About This Mac > Version
    Affected if Version is below 10.15.7, or between 11.0 and 11.0.1 (specifically 11.0 or 11.0.1)
  4. Check watchOS version on Apple Watch
    Open the Watch app on paired iPhone, go to My Watch > General > About, or on the watch go to Settings > General > About
    Affected if Version is below 5.3.9, or between 6.0 and 6.2.9 (excluding 6.2.9), or between 7.0 and 7.1 (excluding 7.1)

You are affected if your device runs any of the affected OS versions listed: iOS < 12.4.9 or 14.0 <= iOS < 14.2, iPadOS < 14.2, macOS < 10.15.7 or 11.0 <= macOS < 11.0.1, or watchOS < 5.3.9, 6.0 <= watchOS < 6.2.9, or 7.0 <= watchOS < 7.1.

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 updates (Security Update 2020-006, iOS 14.2, iPadOS 14.2, watchOS updates, or macOS updates) to all affected devices. This is a local privilege escalation vulnerability requiring a malicious application to be already running on the device.

Recommended fix High confidence

iOS 14.2/iPadOS 14.2, iOS 12.4.9, macOS 11.0.1, macOS 10.15.7 (Security Update 2020-006), watchOS 7.1/6.2.9/5.3.9

  1. Identify the affected device type (iPhone, iPad, Mac, or Apple Watch)
  2. For iOS devices: Go to Settings > General > Software Update and install iOS 12.4.9 (for older devices) or iOS 14.2 (for supported devices)
  3. For iPadOS devices: Go to Settings > General > Software Update and install iPadOS 14.2
  4. For macOS devices: Go to System Preferences > Software Update and install the available security update (10.15.7, 11.0.1, or the appropriate Security Update 2020-006 for High Sierra/Mojave)
  5. For Apple Watch: On the iPhone, open the Watch app, go to General > Software Update, and install watchOS 5.3.9, 6.2.9, or 7.1 as applicable
  6. After updating, verify the device is running the patched version in Settings > General > About

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

Fix this in Ipados Exploited in the wild — priority engagement
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,980
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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-2020-27950 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