CVE-2020-9870
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 validation. This issue is fixed in iOS 13.6 and iPadOS 13.6, macOS Catalina 10.15.6, tvOS 13.4.8. An attacker with memory write capability may be able to bypass pointer authentication codes and run arbitrary code.
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 logic validation flaw in Apple's operating systems (iOS, iPadOS, macOS, tvOS) allows an attacker who already has memory write capability to bypass Pointer Authentication Codes (PAC), a CPU-level security feature that protects pointers from being tampered with, thereby enabling arbitrary code execution.
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< 13.6< 13.6< 10.15.6< 13.4.8CVSS 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
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/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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Check iOS version on iPhoneOn the device, go to Settings > General > About > Version. Note the version number displayed.Affected if Version is earlier than 13.6 (e.g., 13.5.x, 13.4.x, etc.)
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Check iPadOS version on iPadOn the device, go to Settings > General > About > Version. Note the version number displayed.Affected if Version is earlier than 13.6 (e.g., 13.5.x, 13.4.x, etc.)
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Check macOS versionClick the Apple menu > About This Mac, or run 'sw_vers -productVersion' in Terminal.Affected if Version is earlier than 10.15.6 (e.g., 10.15.5, 10.15.4, etc.)
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Check tvOS versionOn Apple TV, go to Settings > General > About > Version. Note the version number displayed.Affected if Version is earlier than 13.4.8 (e.g., 13.4.7, 13.4.5, etc.)
The device is affected if its installed OS version is below the minimum patched version for that product line.
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 data10.15.613.4.813.6
Apply the relevant vendor patch: update to iOS 13.6/iPadOS 13.6, macOS Catalina 10.15.6, tvOS 13.4.8 or later. Organizations should identify affected Apple devices and deploy updates via MDM or direct user notification.
- 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-2020-9870 — 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-2020-9870 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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- 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