CVE-2020-9770
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 logic issue was addressed with improved state management. This issue is fixed in iOS 13.4 and iPadOS 13.4. An attacker in a privileged network position may be able to intercept Bluetooth traffic.
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 confidenceThis is a logic flaw in iOS/iPadOS Bluetooth state management that allows a network-positioned attacker to intercept Bluetooth traffic. The vulnerability requires the attacker to be on the network path between the iOS device and its Bluetooth peripheral, enabling man-in-the-middle attacks on Bluetooth communications.
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< 13.4< 13.4CVSS 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
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check iOS/iPadOS version installedOn the device, go to Settings > General > About > Version. Alternatively, use Apple Configurator, MDM, or iTunes to retrieve the installed iOS/iPadOS version number.Affected if The version number is lower than 13.4 (for example, 13.3.1, 13.3, 13.2, etc.)
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Confirm device is iPhone or iPadCheck the device model by going to Settings > General > About > Model Name, or physically inspect the device.Affected if The device is an iPhone or iPad (as opposed to iPod touch, which is not listed as affected).
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Identify if device uses BluetoothInspect if the device has any paired Bluetooth peripherals by going to Settings > Bluetooth and looking at the My Devices list, or check for Bluetooth menu items.Affected if The device has Bluetooth functionality (paired devices or Bluetooth settings present), as the vulnerability affects Bluetooth state management.
A user is affected if their iPhone or iPad runs iOS/iPadOS version lower than 13.4, regardless of current Bluetooth settings.
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 data13.4
Update all affected iOS and iPadOS devices to version 13.4 or later to receive the Apple patch. For additional defense-in-depth, ensure devices operate in trusted network environments and consider using Bluetooth devices that implement link-layer encryption.
- Consultation1.0 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-2020-9770 — 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-2020-9770 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