CVE-2020-9859
HIGHCVE-2020-9859 is a high-severity (CVSS 7.8) Double Free vulnerability. It is in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2021-11-03) — treat it as actively exploited and patch now. O3 Security confirms whether CVE-2020-9859 is actually reachable in your code before you act, and blocks exploitation at runtime until you patch.
A memory consumption issue was addressed with improved memory handling. This issue is fixed in iOS 13.5.1 and iPadOS 13.5.1, macOS Catalina 10.15.5 Supplemental Update, tvOS 13.4.6,…
EPSS Exploitation Probability
EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) is a daily probability model maintained by FIRST.org. It estimates the likelihood a CVE will be exploited in production environments within the next 30 days, derived from real-world threat intelligence signals.
Description
A memory consumption issue was addressed with improved memory handling. This issue is fixed in iOS 13.5.1 and iPadOS 13.5.1, macOS Catalina 10.15.5 Supplemental Update, tvOS 13.4.6, watchOS 6.2.6. An application may be able to execute arbitrary code with kernel privileges.
Research use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.
Detection & mitigation playbook
VulnerabilityDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for the affected component. O3's reachability analysis confirms whether the vulnerable code path is actually invoked in your application, so you act on real exposure instead of every transitive match.
Remediation status
No patched version of the affected component has shipped for CVE-2020-9859 yet. Where your build allows, override or pin the dependency away from the vulnerable range, and apply any maintainer-recommended mitigation.
Mitigate without a patch
If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.
How O3 protects you
O3 pinpoints whether CVE-2020-9859 is reachable in your code and exactly where to fix it, then blocks exploitation in production at runtime until the patched version is deployed.
Tailored to CVE-2020-9859. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2020-9859 in your dependencies?
O3 detects CVE-2020-9859 across dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.