dbcve.org
Ipad OsOperating system · Apple

CVE-2020-3890

MEDIUM · 5.3 CVSS v3.1 Published 2020-04-01
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 13.4 or later.
See remediation →
62/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable No privileges 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
The issue was addressed with improved deletion. This issue is fixed in iOS 13.4 and iPadOS 13.4. Deleted messages groups may still be suggested as an autocompletion.

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

In iOS and iPadOS prior to 13.4, deleted message groups (conversations) were not properly removed from the autocomplete suggestion system, allowing previously deleted message threads to still appear as autocompletion candidates when users typed in the Messages app.

MitigationUpdate to iOS 13.4 or later (or current supported iOS version) to receive the improved deletion fix that properly removes deleted message groups from autocompletion suggestions.

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
Ipad OsOperating system
Affected:< 13.4
Iphone OsOperating system
Affected:< 13.4

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
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
Low
Integrity
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/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 iOS or iPadOS version
    Go to Settings > General > About and look at the Version number
    Affected if Version is less than 13.4 (for example, 13.3.1, 13.3, 12.x, etc.)
  2. Confirm Messages app is used
    Verify that the Messages application is installed and has been used to create conversations
    Affected if Messages app has been used and contains conversation history
  3. Test autocomplete for deleted conversations
    In Messages app, start typing the name or partial name of a conversation you previously deleted; observe if the deleted conversation appears as an autocomplete suggestion
    Affected if Deleted conversations appear as autocomplete candidates while typing in the compose field

You are affected if your device runs iOS or iPadOS version 13.3.x or earlier and you observe deleted message threads appearing in the Messages autocomplete suggestions.

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 13.4 or later
Fixed in 13.4
Interim mitigation

Update to iOS 13.4 or later (or current supported iOS version) to receive the improved deletion fix that properly removes deleted message groups from autocompletion suggestions.

Fix this in Ipad Os Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
3.0 hours of engineering $750
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,200.

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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-2020-3890 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