Cyber Resilience

CVE-2019-8526

Memory Safety in Apple Mac Os X ≤ 10.14.4

CISA KEVActive ExploitationEUVD ExploitedMemory Safety
Published
18 December 2019
Modified
23 October 2025
KEV Added
17 April 2023
Patch / advisory
View advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 7.8
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.0070 50th percentile
Risk Priority 83 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2019-8526 is a high-severity Use After Free (CWE-416) vulnerability in Apple Mac Os X. Its CVSS base score is 7.8 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploitation for Client Execution (T1203); ranked at the 50th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); 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 use-after-free vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2019-8526 and assigned CWE-416, affects macOS Mojave prior to version 10.14.4. The flaw stems from insufficient memory management that can leave a dangling reference after an object is freed, enabling improper access to previously allocated memory regions. The issue carries a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.8 under the vector AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.

An attacker with local access and low privileges can trigger the condition through a malicious application running on the affected system. Successful exploitation allows the application to obtain elevated privileges, potentially leading to full control over the host.

Apple addressed the vulnerability in the macOS Mojave 10.14.4 update published under security advisory HT209600. The same advisory is referenced by CISA in its catalog of known exploited vulnerabilities, confirming that the issue has been observed in active exploitation campaigns.

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

A use after free issue was addressed with improved memory management. This issue is fixed in macOS Mojave 10.14.4. An application may be able to gain elevated privileges.

CWE(s)
CWE-416
KEV Date Added
17 April 2023

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1203 Exploitation for Client Execution Execution
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in client applications to execute code.
attack.mitre.org →
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 →
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-2019-8605Same product: Apple Mac Os Xboth on KEV
CVE-2023-28205Same vendor: Appleboth on KEV
CVE-2023-43000Same vendor: Appleboth on KEV
CVE-2025-24085Same vendor: Appleboth on KEV
CVE-2021-30762Same vendor: Appleboth on KEV
CVE-2022-22620Same vendor: Appleboth on KEV
CVE-2025-43529Same vendor: Appleboth on KEV
CVE-2021-30661Same vendor: Appleboth on KEV
CVE-2023-41974Same vendor: Appleboth on KEV
CVE-2014-0496Same product: Apple Mac Os Xboth on KEV

Affected Assets

apple
mac os x
≤ 10.14.4

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

—

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

—

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)
  • 3 hardening rules · 3 OS baselines
Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • V1.4.3

Likely Mitigating Controls AI

Per-CVE control mapping for this CVE has not run yet; the list below is derived from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry.

SI-16 Memory Protection
addresses: CWE-416

Use-after-free exploits that achieve arbitrary code execution are blocked or significantly hardened by non-executable pages and ASLR.

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 incorporate memory-safety tooling and reviews that prevent most use-after-free defects.

ID.RA-01 partial match
prevents

Vulnerability identification processes can discover use-after-free issues via scanning or analysis but do not prevent their introduction.

PR.PS-02 partial match
prevents

Routine patching removes known use-after-free instances after they have been introduced in released software.

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 use-after-free bugs before release.

A.8.25 Secure development life cycle partial match
prevents

Secure SDLC mandates memory-safety practices that reduce use-after-free defects.

A.8.26 Application security requirements partial match
prevents

Application security requirements can specify memory-management rules that mitigate use-after-free.

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

Secure architecture principles include memory-safety design choices that limit use-after-free exposure.

A.8.28 Secure coding partial match
prevents

Secure coding standards directly prescribe avoidance of use-after-free patterns.

A.8.32 Change management partial match
prevents

Change-management processes help ensure memory-safety fixes are deployed consistently.

Hardening callouts derived

Configuration rules from DISA STIG baselines that bear on weaknesses of the type cited by this CVE. Each rule is shown with the relationship its mapping actually records, against the CWE it was authored against. Derived via CVE→CWE over `controls_xwalks` (authoritative rows only; rows rated `none` are excluded).

Oracle Linux 8 (1 rule)
  • V-248592 OL 8 must clear memory when it is freed to prevent use-after-free attacks. prevents CWE-416
RHEL 8 (1 rule)
  • V-230279 RHEL 8 must clear memory when it is freed to prevent use-after-free attacks. prevents CWE-416
RHEL 9 (1 rule)
  • V-257794 RHEL 9 must clear memory when it is freed to prevent use-after-free attacks. prevents CWE-416

References