CVE-2020-9966
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 Big Sur 11.0.1, watchOS 7.0, tvOS 14.0, iOS 14.0 and iPadOS 14.0. An application may be able to execute arbitrary code with kernel privileges.
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 the Apple kernel allows a malicious application to read memory outside allocated bounds, potentially leading to arbitrary code execution with kernel-level privileges. The vulnerability was addressed through improved input validation in the affected operating systems.
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< 14.0< 14.0< 11.0.1< 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 operating systemDetermine which Apple OS is running (iOS, iPadOS, macOS, tvOS, or watchOS) and the device typeAffected if Any Apple device running an affected OS type
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Check iOS or iPadOS versionOn the device, go to Settings > General > About > Version, or use Xcode or MobileDevice framework to query the installed iOS/iPadOS versionAffected if iOS or iPadOS version is less than 14.0
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Check macOS versionClick Apple menu > About This Mac, or run 'sw_vers' in Terminal to get the macOS version numberAffected if macOS version is less than 11.0.1 (any version of macOS Catalina 10.15.x or earlier)
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Check tvOS or watchOS versionOn Apple TV, go to Settings > General > About > Version; on Apple Watch, go to Settings > General > About > VersionAffected if tvOS version is less than 14.0 OR watchOS version is less than 7.0
If the device runs iOS/iPadOS < 14.0, macOS < 11.0.1, tvOS < 14.0, or watchOS < 7.0, the kernel vulnerability is present and the system is affected.
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 data7.011.0.114.0
Apply vendor-supplied patches: update to iOS 14.0+, iPadOS 14.0+, watchOS 7.0+, tvOS 14.0+, or macOS Big Sur 11.0.1 or later. This is a high-priority kernel privilege escalation; prioritize patching mobile devices and exposed systems.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-9966 — 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-2020-9966 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