CVE-2020-3850
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 · uneditedA memory corruption issue was addressed with improved input validation. This issue is fixed in macOS Catalina 10.15.3. A remote attacker may be able to cause unexpected application termination or 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 confidenceA memory corruption vulnerability in macOS Catalina (prior to 10.15.3) allowed remote attackers to achieve arbitrary code execution or cause application crashes through insufficient input validation. The flaw was remotely exploitable and rated critical due to the potential for complete system compromise.
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< 10.15.3CVSS 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
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Verify macOS is installedRun 'sw_vers' in Terminal or click Apple menu > About This Mac to confirm the operating systemAffected if System is not running macOS (this CVE only affects macOS)
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Check the macOS version numberRun 'sw_vers -productVersion' in Terminal to get the exact version (e.g., 10.15.2, 10.15.4)Affected if Version cannot be determined or is not in the 10.15.x series
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Compare version against CVE thresholdCompare the installed version to 10.15.3 - any version lower than 10.15.3 (10.15.0, 10.15.1, 10.15.2) is within the affected rangeAffected if Installed version is 10.15.2 or lower (i.e., 10.15, 10.15.1, 10.15.2)
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Confirm the release nameRun 'sw_vers -productName' to confirm the system is running macOS CatalinaAffected if System is running a different macOS release (Mojave, High Sierra, etc.) - this specific CVE does not apply
A system is affected if it is running any version of macOS Catalina lower than 10.15.3 (versions 10.15 through 10.15.2).
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.
dbcve · scoped10.15.3
Apply macOS Catalina 10.15.3 or later security update to all affected Mac systems. Prioritize externally-facing and internet-connected Mac systems given the remote exploitation vector.
macOS Catalina 10.15.3
- Back up important data before upgrading the operating system
- Verify current macOS version by clicking Apple menu > About This Mac
- Download macOS 10.15.3 or later from the Mac App Store or via Software Update
- Run the installer and follow the on-screen instructions to complete the upgrade
- Restart the system when prompted to apply the security update
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,984.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-3850 — 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-2020-3850 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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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.
- 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