dbcve.org
IpadosOperating system · Apple

CVE-2020-27951

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-04-02
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 6.3 / 7.2 or later.
See remediation →
81/100
Remediation priority · High
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
This issue was addressed with improved checks. This issue is fixed in watchOS 6.3, iOS 12.5, iOS 14.3 and iPadOS 14.3, watchOS 7.2. Unauthorized code execution may lead to an authentication policy violation.

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

Vulnerability in Apple authentication mechanisms allows unauthorized code execution, leading to authentication policy violation. The issue was addressed with improved checks in the listed iOS, iPadOS, and watchOS versions.

MitigationApply the vendor patches: update to iOS 12.5, iOS 14.3/iPadOS 14.3, watchOS 6.3, or watchOS 7.2 as appropriate for 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:< 14.3
Iphone OsOperating system
Affected:< 12.5>= 14.0, < 14.3
WatchosOperating system
Affected:>= 6.0, < 6.3>= 7.0, < 7.2

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 iOS version on iPhone
    Go to Settings > General > About on the iPhone and read the 'Version' field (e.g., 14.2, 13.7)
    Affected if Version is less than 12.5, OR version is 14.0, 14.1, or 14.2 (anything below 14.3)
  2. Check iPadOS version on iPad
    Go to Settings > General > About on the iPad and read the 'Version' field
    Affected if Version is less than 14.3 (any version below 14.3)
  3. Check watchOS version on Apple Watch
    Open the Watch app on iPhone, go to My Watch > General > About, and read the 'WatchOS' version field
    Affected if Version is 6.0 through 6.2.x, OR version is 7.0 through 7.1.x

A device is affected if it runs iOS/iPadOS versions below 14.3 (or below 12.5 for iOS devices that can run 12.5), or watchOS versions 6.0-6.2.x or 7.0-7.1.x.

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.

From vendor data
Upgrade available Upgrade to 6.3 / 7.2 / 12.5 or later
Fixed in 6.37.212.5
Interim mitigation

Apply the vendor patches: update to iOS 12.5, iOS 14.3/iPadOS 14.3, watchOS 6.3, or watchOS 7.2 as appropriate for the device.

Fix this in Ipados Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
8.0 hours of engineering $1,360
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,176.

Scan for this in your stack

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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-2020-27951 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