CVE-2020-9961
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 out-of-bounds read was addressed with improved input validation. This issue is fixed in macOS Catalina 10.15.7, Security Update 2020-005 High Sierra, Security Update 2020-005 Mojave. Processing a maliciously crafted image 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 · moderate confidenceAn out-of-bounds read vulnerability in macOS image processing components allows processing of maliciously crafted images to trigger memory access beyond allocated buffers, potentially enabling arbitrary code execution. The fix implements improved input validation to prevent the out-of-bounds read condition.
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< 11.5< 12.10.9< 14.0< 14.0>= 10.13, < 10.13.6>= 10.14, < 10.14.6>= 10.15, < 10.15.7= 10.13.6= 10.14.6< 14.0< 7.0CVSS 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify the Apple product in useDetermine whether the system is running macOS, iOS/iPadOS, tvOS, watchOS, iCloud, or iTunesAffected if Any of these Apple products are installed and running
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Check macOS versionRun 'sw_vers -productVersion' in Terminal or go to Apple menu > About This MacAffected if Version is 10.13.x through 10.13.6, 10.14.x through 10.14.6, or 10.15.x through 10.15.7 (specifically versions >= 10.13 but < 10.13.6, = 10.13.6, >= 10.14 but < 10.14.6, = 10.14.6, or >= 10.15 but < 10.15.7)
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Check iOS or iPadOS versionGo to Settings > General > About on iPhone or iPadAffected if Version is less than 14.0
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Check tvOS versionGo to Settings > General > About on Apple TVAffected if Version is less than 14.0
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Check watchOS versionOpen the Watch app on iPhone and go to General > AboutAffected if Version is less than 7.0
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Check iTunes or iCloud for Windows versionOpen iTunes or iCloud and go to Help > About, or check the installed version in Programs and FeaturesAffected if iTunes is older than 12.10.9 or iCloud is older than 11.5
The system is affected if it runs any Apple product listed with a version lower than the specified threshold: iOS/iPadOS/tvOS/watchOS < 14.0/7.0, macOS 10.13.x-10.13.6/10.14.x-10.14.6/10.15.x-10.15.7, iTunes < 12.10.9, or iCloud < 11.5
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 data7.010.13.610.14.6
Apply the relevant Apple security updates: macOS Catalina 10.15.7, Security Update 2020-005 for High Sierra, or Security Update 2020-005 for Mojave, depending on the macOS version in use.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-9961 — 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-2020-9961 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