dbcve.org
Mac Os XOperating system · Apple

CVE-2020-29621

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-04-02
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 10.14.6 / 10.15.7 or later.
See remediation →
57/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Zero-click

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 macOS Big Sur 11.1, Security Update 2020-001 Catalina, Security Update 2020-007 Mojave. A malicious application may be able to bypass Privacy preferences.

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

This vulnerability in macOS allowed a malicious application to bypass Privacy preferences, likely through the TCC (Transparency, Consent, and Control) database that manages privacy permissions. The flaw enabled unauthorized access to privacy-protected resources such as camera, microphone, contacts, or other sensitive data without user consent.

MitigationApply the relevant Apple security update for the macOS version in use: macOS Big Sur 11.1, Security Update 2020-001 for Catalina, or Security Update 2020-007 for Mojave. Ensure补丁管理 systems have deployed these updates organization-wide.

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
Mac Os XOperating system
Affected:>= 10.14, < 10.14.6>= 10.15, < 10.15.7= 10.14.6= 10.15.7
macOSOperating system
Affected:>= 11.0, < 11.1.0

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
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/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 installed macOS version
    Open Terminal and run: sw_vers -productVersion
    Affected if The version falls within 10.14.x (prior to 10.14.6), 10.15.x (prior to 10.15.7), or 11.0.x (prior to 11.1.0)
  2. Verify TCC database accessibility
    Check if the TCC database at /Library/Application Support/com.apple.TCC/TCC.db exists and is accessible. Run: ls -la /Library/Application\ Support/com.apple.TCC/
    Affected if The TCC.db file exists and world-readable permissions exist (indicating potential bypass condition)

You are affected if running macOS 10.14.x before 10.14.6, 10.15.x before 10.15.7, or 11.0.x before 11.1.0, and a malicious local application could bypass TCC privacy prompts to access camera, microphone, contacts, or other protected resources.

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 10.14.6 / 10.15.7 / 11.1.0 or later
Fixed in 10.14.610.15.711.1.0
Interim mitigation

Apply the relevant Apple security update for the macOS version in use: macOS Big Sur 11.1, Security Update 2020-001 for Catalina, or Security Update 2020-007 for Mojave. Ensure补丁管理 systems have deployed these updates organization-wide.

Fix this in Mac Os X Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,040
Get the upgrade done

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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-2020-29621 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