Cyber Resilience

CVE-2019-8506

Memory Safety in Apple Icloud ≤ 7.11

CISA KEVActive ExploitationEUVD ExploitedMemory Safety
Published
18 December 2019
Modified
23 October 2025
KEV Added
04 May 2022
Patch / advisory
View advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 8.8
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.18 97th percentile
Risk Priority 90 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2019-8506 is a high-severity Type Confusion (CWE-843) vulnerability in Apple Icloud. Its CVSS base score is 8.8 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploitation for Privilege Escalation (T1068); ranked in the top 3% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; CISA has added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog.

Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary

Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.

A type confusion vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2019-8506 and assigned CWE-843, was present in the WebKit component used for processing web content. It affected multiple Apple platforms and applications, specifically iOS prior to 12.2, tvOS prior to 12.2, watchOS prior to 5.2, Safari prior to 12.1, iTunes for Windows prior to 12.9.4, and iCloud for Windows prior to 7.11. The flaw was resolved through improved memory handling in those releases.

An attacker can exploit the issue by serving maliciously crafted web content to a victim. With network access and no privileges required, successful exploitation leads to arbitrary code execution on the target system, carrying high impact to confidentiality, integrity, and availability as reflected in its CVSS 3.1 score of 8.8.

Apple security advisories corresponding to the listed support URLs detail the affected builds and direct users to apply the listed updates, which contain the memory-handling fixes that prevent the type confusion from being triggered during web content processing.

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

A type confusion issue was addressed with improved memory handling. This issue is fixed in iOS 12.2, tvOS 12.2, watchOS 5.2, Safari 12.1, iTunes 12.9.4 for Windows, iCloud for Windows 7.11. Processing maliciously crafted web content may lead to arbitrary…

more

code execution.

CWE(s)
CWE-843
KEV Date Added
04 May 2022

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1068 Exploitation for Privilege Escalation Privilege Escalation
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in an attempt to elevate privileges.
attack.mitre.org →
T1190 Exploit Public-Facing Application Initial Access
Adversaries may attempt to exploit a weakness in an Internet-facing host or system to initially access a network.
attack.mitre.org →
T1203 Exploitation for Client Execution Execution
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in client applications to execute code.
attack.mitre.org →
T1210 Exploitation of Remote Services Lateral Movement
Adversaries may exploit remote services to gain unauthorized access to internal systems once inside of a network.
attack.mitre.org →
T1212 Exploitation for Credential Access Credential Access
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in an attempt to collect credentials.
attack.mitre.org →
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2020-27932Same product: Apple Icloudboth on KEV
CVE-2022-42856Same product: Apple Iphone Osboth on KEV
CVE-2024-23222Same product: Apple Iphone Osboth on KEV
CVE-2023-23529Same product: Apple Iphone Osboth on KEV
CVE-2017-5070Same product: Redhat Enterprise Linux Desktopboth on KEV
CVE-2021-30869Same product: Apple Iphone Osboth on KEV
CVE-2017-11292Same product: Redhat Enterprise Linux Desktopboth on KEV
CVE-2023-32439Same product: Apple Iphone Osboth on KEV
CVE-2021-1789Same product: Apple Iphone Osboth on KEV
CVE-2017-8291Same product: Redhat Enterprise Linux Desktopboth on KEV

Affected Assets

apple
icloud
≤ 7.11
apple
itunes
≤ 12.9.4
apple
safari
≤ 12.1
apple
iphone os
≤ 12.2
apple
tvos
≤ 12.2
apple
watchos
≤ 5.2
redhat
enterprise linux desktop
7.0
redhat
enterprise linux server
7.0
redhat
enterprise linux workstation
7.0

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

—

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

—

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)

—

Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • V1.5.2
  • V3.2.3
  • V15.3.5

Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

PR.PS-06 mostly match
prevents

Secure SDLC practices directly prevent type-confusion flaws via safe typing, static analysis, and code review while the control itself addresses many additional weaknesses.

Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

A.8.29 Security testing in development and acceptance mostly match
finds

Security testing in development can detect type-confusion vulnerabilities through fuzzing and static analysis.

A.8.25 Secure development life cycle partial match
prevents

Secure SDLC mandates type-safe design and review that can catch type-confusion flaws.

A.8.26 Application security requirements partial match
prevents

Application security requirements can specify strong typing and interface contracts that reduce type confusion.

A.8.27 Secure system architecture and engineering principles partial match
prevents

Secure architecture principles promote type-safe languages and memory-safety mechanisms that mitigate type confusion.

A.8.28 Secure coding partial match
prevents

Secure coding standards directly forbid unsafe type casts and require static-analysis checks for type confusion.

References