How severe is CVE-2020-9859?

CVE-2020-9859 has a CVSS score of 7.8/10, rated HIGH. Immediate patching is strongly recommended.

Which packages are affected by CVE-2020-9859?

Affected package information for CVE-2020-9859 is not yet fully mapped. Check the official advisory links for details.

How do I fix CVE-2020-9859?

No fixed version has been published for CVE-2020-9859 yet. Monitor the advisory for updates, apply mitigations recommended by the vendor, and use O3 Security to track when a fix becomes available in your stack.

Is CVE-2020-9859 actively exploited in the wild?

Yes. There are 1 known exploit references for CVE-2020-9859, including 1 in-the-wild exploitation observed on GitHub and other sources. Treat this as actively exploitable and prioritize patching immediately. All exploit code should only be run in an isolated sandbox environment for research or authorized testing — never against production systems without explicit written authorization.

What is the EPSS score for CVE-2020-9859?

CVE-2020-9859 has an EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) score of 0.1%, placing it in the 27th percentile of all CVEs. EPSS is maintained by FIRST.org and estimates the probability that a vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. This score indicates relatively lower exploitation probability, though the CVSS severity should still guide your patching priority.

Is CVE-2020-9859 in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog?

Yes. CVE-2020-9859 (Apple Multiple Products Code Execution Vulnerability) was added to CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog on 2021-11-03. CISA required all US federal civilian agencies to remediate this vulnerability by 2022-05-03. The required action was: Apply updates per vendor instructions. Being listed in the KEV catalog is the strongest possible confirmation of active exploitation — treat this as a critical priority.

What type of vulnerability is CVE-2020-9859?

CVE-2020-9859 is classified as CWE-415 (CWE-415). This weakness type describe the underlying flaw category, which helps determine the potential impact and the right class of mitigation.

Which products and versions are affected by CVE-2020-9859?

CVE-2020-9859 affects apple ipados; apple iphone os; apple mac os x; apple tvos, and 1 more product(s). Check the affected-products list on this page against your deployed version to confirm exposure.

When was CVE-2020-9859 published, and has it been updated?

CVE-2020-9859 was published on June 5, 2020 and was last updated on October 23, 2025. Advisory data evolves as severity scores, affected ranges, and exploit intelligence are revised — always check the latest version of the advisory before acting.

CISA KEV·Added 2021-11-03 — agencies required to remediate by 2022-05-03

CVE-2020-9859

HIGH

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,…

Published

Jun 5, 2020

Updated

Oct 23, 2025

Affected

0 pkgs

Patched

None yet

Exploits

1 known

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗

0.1%probability of exploitation in next 30 days

Lower Risk27th percentile0.00%

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.

Affected Products

5 products · 5 configurations

ipadosapple

< 13.5.1

range

iphone osapple

< 13.5.1

range

mac os xapple

< 10.15.5

range

tvosapple

< 13.4.6

range

watchosapple

< 6.2.6

range

Exploits & PoCs

Research use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.

A memory consumption issue was addressed with improved memory handling. …

cisa.govCISAJul 2021

Frequently Asked Questions

O3 Security · Impact-Aware SCA

Is CVE-2020-9859 in your stack?

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.

Scan my stack How O3 SCA works