dbcve.org
IcloudApplication · Apple

CVE-2020-9876

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2020-10-22
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 7.0 / 7.20 or later.
See remediation →
81/100
Remediation priority · High
No privileges

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
An out-of-bounds write issue was addressed with improved bounds checking. This issue is fixed in iOS 13.6 and iPadOS 13.6, macOS Catalina 10.15.6, tvOS 13.4.8, watchOS 6.2.8, iTunes 12.10.8 for Windows, iCloud for Windows 11.3, iCloud for Windows 7.20. Opening a maliciously crafted PDF file may lead to an 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 · high confidence

This is an out-of-bounds write vulnerability in Apple's core frameworks (likely CoreGraphics or PDFKit) affecting iOS, iPadOS, macOS, tvOS, watchOS, iTunes, and iCloud for Windows. The vulnerability is triggered when a user opens a maliciously crafted PDF file, causing memory corruption that can lead to arbitrary code execution. The issue was addressed with improved bounds checking in the respective updates.

MitigationApply the vendor security updates (iOS 13.6+, iPadOS 13.6+, macOS 10.15.6+, tvOS 13.4.8+, watchOS 6.2.8+, iTunes 12.10.8+, iCloud for Windows 11.3+/7.20+) and avoid opening PDF files from untrusted or unknown sources.

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
IcloudApplication
Affected:< 7.20>= 10.0, < 11.5
ItunesApplication
Affected:< 12.10.9
IpadosOperating system
Affected:< 14.0
Iphone OsOperating system
Affected:< 14.0
Mac Os XOperating system
Affected:>= 10.13, < 10.13.6>= 10.14, < 10.14.6>= 10.15, < 10.15.6= 10.13.6= 10.14.6
macOSOperating system
Affected:>= 11.0, <= 11.0.1
TvosOperating system
Affected:< 14.0
WatchosOperating system
Affected:< 7.0

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
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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify the Apple product in use
    Determine whether the system is running iOS, iPadOS, macOS, tvOS, watchOS, iTunes, or iCloud for Windows. On macOS, check System Preferences > About. On iOS/iPadOS, check Settings > General > About. For iTunes/iCloud, check the application version in the app itself or the Windows Programs and Features list.
    Affected if The product is one of the affected: iCloud, iTunes, iPadOS, iPhone OS, macOS, tvOS, or watchOS.
  2. Determine the installed version number
    On macOS, run 'sw_vers' in Terminal or check System Preferences > About. On iOS/iPadOS, go to Settings > General > About and note the version number. On tvOS/watchOS, check in Settings > General > About. For iTunes on Windows, open iTunes > Help > About iTunes. For iCloud for Windows, open the app and check the version in settings.
    Affected if Version number cannot be determined or does not match the expected format for comparison.
  3. Compare against affected macOS versions
    For macOS: versions 10.13.x before 10.13.6, 10.14.x before 10.14.6, 10.15.x before 10.15.6, and versions 11.0 to 11.0.1 are affected. Run 'sw_vers -productVersion' to get the exact version.
    Affected if The installed macOS version falls within: 10.13.0-10.13.5, 10.14.0-10.14.5, 10.15.0-10.15.5, or 11.0-11.0.1.
  4. Compare against affected iOS/iPadOS versions
    For iOS and iPadOS, check the version in Settings > General > About. Versions prior to 14.0 are affected (including all 13.x versions before 13.6).
    Affected if The installed iOS or iPadOS version is below 14.0.
  5. Compare against affected tvOS/watchOS versions
    For tvOS, versions before 14.0 are affected. For watchOS, versions before 7.0 are affected. Check via Settings > General > About on each device.
    Affected if The tvOS version is below 14.0 or the watchOS version is below 7.0.
  6. Compare against affected iTunes and iCloud versions
    For iTunes (Windows or macOS), check Help > About iTunes - versions before 12.10.9 are affected. For iCloud for Windows, check the version in the app settings - versions before 7.20 or in the range >=10.0 to <11.5 are affected.
    Affected if iTunes is below 12.10.9, or iCloud for Windows is below 7.20 or between 10.0 and 11.4.

The system is affected if the installed product and version matches any of the affected ranges AND the system has the ability to open or process PDF files (which is default in all listed products).

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 7.0 / 7.20 / 10.13.6 or later
Fixed in 7.07.2010.13.6
Interim mitigation

Apply the vendor security updates (iOS 13.6+, iPadOS 13.6+, macOS 10.15.6+, tvOS 13.4.8+, watchOS 6.2.8+, iTunes 12.10.8+, iCloud for Windows 11.3+/7.20+) and avoid opening PDF files from untrusted or unknown sources.

Fix this in Icloud Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,060
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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-2020-9876 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