dbcve.org
Mac Os XOperating system · Apple

CVE-2020-3827

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2020-02-27
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 10.15.3 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
A memory corruption issue was addressed with improved input validation. This issue is fixed in macOS Catalina 10.15.3. Viewing a maliciously crafted JPEG file may lead to arbitrary code execution.

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

Memory corruption vulnerability in macOS Catalina's image parsing subsystem that can be triggered by viewing a maliciously crafted JPEG file, potentially allowing arbitrary code execution with the privileges of the viewing user.

MitigationApply macOS Catalina 10.15.3 or later security updates; implement network-based controls to block untrusted image files from external sources; educate users to avoid opening JPEG files from untrusted sources.

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:< 10.15.3

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 installed macOS version
    Run 'sw_vers -productVersion' in Terminal, or go to Apple menu > About This Mac to view the version number
    Affected if The version displayed is 10.15.0, 10.15.1, or 10.15.2 (any version below 10.15.3)
  2. Confirm macOS Catalina family
    Verify the major version begins with 10.15 (the Catalina release family)
    Affected if The version starts with 10.15 and the minor version is less than 3
  3. Identify image processing exposure
    Determine if the system regularly processes JPEG files from external or untrusted sources (email attachments, downloaded files, web browsing)
    Affected if Users routinely open JPEG images from untrusted or external sources without additional validation

You are affected if your Mac runs any macOS Catalina version below 10.15.3 and processes JPEG images from potentially untrusted sources.

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 10.15.3 or later
Fixed in 10.15.3
Interim mitigation

Apply macOS Catalina 10.15.3 or later security updates; implement network-based controls to block untrusted image files from external sources; educate users to avoid opening JPEG files from untrusted sources.

Fix this in Mac Os X Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,200
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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-2020-3827 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