CVE-2020-3853
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 type confusion issue was addressed with improved memory handling. This issue is fixed in iOS 13.3.1 and iPadOS 13.3.1, macOS Catalina 10.15.3, tvOS 13.3.1, watchOS 6.1.2. A malicious application may be able to execute arbitrary code with system privileges.
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 confidenceA type confusion vulnerability in Apple's core operating systems allowed a malicious application to execute arbitrary code with system privileges through improper memory handling during object type resolution, enabling privilege escalation.
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< 13.3.1< 13.3.1< 10.15.3< 13.3.1< 6.1.2CVSS 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check iOS version on iPhoneOn the device, go to Settings > General > About and note the version number listed next to 'Version'Affected if The version shown is lower than 13.3.1 (for example, 13.3, 13.2.x, or any earlier version)
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Check iPadOS version on iPadOn the device, go to Settings > General > About and note the version number listed next to 'Version'Affected if The version shown is lower than 13.3.1 (for example, 13.3, 13.2.x, or any earlier version)
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Check macOS version on MacClick the Apple menu > About This Mac and note the version number displayed under the macOS name (for example, 10.15.2)Affected if The version shown is lower than 10.15.3 (for example, 10.15.2, 10.15.1, or 10.15.0)
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Check tvOS version on Apple TVGo to Settings > General > About > Version on the Apple TV deviceAffected if The version shown is lower than 13.3.1 (for example, 13.3, 13.2.x, or any earlier version)
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Check watchOS version on Apple WatchOpen the Watch app on paired iPhone, go to General > About, or on the watch go to Settings > General > AboutAffected if The version shown is lower than 6.1.2 (for example, 6.1.1, 6.1.0, or any earlier version)
If any of your Apple devices (iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, or Apple Watch) are running an OS version lower than the respective threshold (13.3.1 for iOS/iPadOS/tvOS, 10.15.3 for macOS, 6.1.2 for watchOS), then your environment is affected by this vulnerability.
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.
From vendor data6.1.210.15.313.3.1
Deploy the vendor patches (iOS 13.3.1+, iPadOS 13.3.1+, macOS 10.15.3+, tvOS 13.3.1+, watchOS 6.1.2+) to affected devices to resolve the type confusion and prevent privilege escalation.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-3853 — 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-2020-3853 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
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