CVE-2020-9934
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 · uneditedAn issue existed in the handling of environment variables. This issue was addressed with improved validation. This issue is fixed in iOS 13.6 and iPadOS 13.6, macOS Catalina 10.15.6. A local user may be able to view sensitive user information.
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 local information disclosure vulnerability in Apple's iOS, iPadOS, and macOS where improper validation of environment variables allows a local authenticated user to view sensitive user information that should not be accessible to them.
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< 10.15.6CVSS 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
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/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 version on iPhoneGo to Settings > General > About and look at the Version fieldAffected if Version number is less than 13.6 (e.g., 13.5, 13.4, etc.)
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Check iPadOS version on iPadGo to Settings > General > About and look at the Version fieldAffected if Version number is less than 13.6 (e.g., 13.5, 13.4, etc.)
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Check macOS version on MacClick Apple menu > About This Mac; the version number appears below the macOS nameAffected if Version number is less than 10.15.6 (e.g., 10.15.5, 10.15.4, etc.)
You are affected if your device runs iOS/iPadOS below 13.6 or macOS below 10.15.6, as the vulnerability requires a local authenticated user session to exploit the improper environment variable validation.
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.
dbcve · scoped10.15.613.6
Apply vendor-supplied patches by updating to iOS 13.6/iPadOS 13.6 or macOS Catalina 10.15.6 or later.
iOS 13.6, iPadOS 13.6, macOS Catalina 10.15.6
- Upgrade iPhone to iOS 13.6 or later via Settings > General > Software Update
- Upgrade iPad to iPadOS 13.6 or later via Settings > General > Software Update
- Upgrade Mac to macOS Catalina 10.15.6 or later via System Preferences > Software Update
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation1.0 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-2020-9934 — 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-2020-9934 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