dbcve.org
IpadosOperating system · Apple

CVE-2020-9897

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-10-28
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 11.0.1 / 14.2 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 was addressed with improved input validation. This issue is fixed in iOS 14.2 and iPadOS 14.2, macOS Big Sur 11.0.1. Processing a maliciously crafted PDF may lead to 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

An out-of-bounds write vulnerability in PDF processing was addressed with improved input validation. The flaw allows arbitrary code execution when processing a maliciously crafted PDF file. Affected platforms include iOS versions prior to 14.2, iPadOS versions prior to 14.2, and macOS versions prior to Big Sur 11.0.1.

MitigationApply vendor-supplied patches: update to iOS 14.2/iPadOS 14.2 or later, or macOS Big Sur 11.0.1 or later. Disable PDF previewing or block external PDF sources if immediate patching is not feasible.

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
IpadosOperating system
Affected:< 14.2
Iphone OsOperating system
Affected:< 14.2
macOSOperating system
Affected:< 11.0.1

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 operating system
    Check the system for iOS, iPadOS, or macOS. On macOS, run 'sw_vers' or check System Preferences > About. On iOS/iPadOS, check Settings > General > About.
    Affected if The system is not running iOS, iPadOS, or macOS (this CVE only affects these Apple platforms)
  2. Check the installed iOS version
    On iOS, go to Settings > General > About and look at the Version field. Compare against 14.2.
    Affected if The iOS version is lower than 14.2 (e.g., 14.1, 13.x, or earlier)
  3. Check the installed iPadOS version
    On iPadOS, go to Settings > General > About and look at the Version field. Compare against 14.2.
    Affected if The iPadOS version is lower than 14.2 (e.g., 14.1, 13.x, or earlier)
  4. Check the installed macOS version
    On macOS, run 'sw_vers -productVersion' or check System Preferences > About. Compare against 11.0.1.
    Affected if The macOS version is lower than 11.0.1 (e.g., 10.15.x, 10.14.x, or earlier)
  5. Verify PDF processing is accessible
    Confirm that the device can process PDF files through Preview (macOS), Files app (iOS/iPadOS), or any application that renders PDFs. The vulnerability exists in the system's PDF handling framework.
    Affected if PDF rendering is available on the device (the flaw is triggered when processing a malicious PDF)

You are affected if the device runs iOS, iPadOS, or macOS with a version lower than 14.2 (iOS/iPadOS) or lower than 11.0.1 (macOS), and the system can process PDF files.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 11.0.1 / 14.2 or later
Fixed in 11.0.114.2
Interim mitigation

Apply vendor-supplied patches: update to iOS 14.2/iPadOS 14.2 or later, or macOS Big Sur 11.0.1 or later. Disable PDF previewing or block external PDF sources if immediate patching is not feasible.

Recommended fix High confidence

iOS 14.2, iPadOS 14.2, macOS Big Sur 11.0.1

  1. For iOS/iPadOS devices: Navigate to Settings > General > Software Update, then download and install iOS 14.2 or iPadOS 14.2
  2. For macOS devices: Open System Preferences > Software Update, then download and install macOS Big Sur 11.0.1
  3. After updating, verify the installed version by going to Settings > General > About (iOS/iPadOS) or Apple menu > About This Mac (macOS)
Caveat iOS 14 introduced some UI changes and deprecated certain features; verify app compatibility before upgrading critical production devices

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Ipados Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,200
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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-2020-9897 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