What it is
CVE-2020-27950 is an unauthenticated vulnerability affecting Apple watchOS and 2 other products. A memory initialization issue was addressed. This issue is fixed in macOS Big Sur 11.0.1, watchOS 7.1, iOS 12.4.9,...
Vulnerability report
Exploited in the wild
Confirmed confidence
In CISA KEV
CVE-2020-27950
watchOS
Apple / watchOS · affected before 7.1
- Severity
- CVSS 5.5 · Medium
- Confidence
- Confirmed
- Exploit status
- Exploited in the wild
- EPSS
- 16.4%
- First observed
- —
- Last observed
- —
Decision summary
What security teams need to know first
Direct answers before the deeper technical record.
Is it exploited?
Yes. KEV Intelligence tracks this CVE as a known exploited vulnerability. Confidence is confirmed.
Who is affected?
Apple / watchOS affected before 7.1.
What should we do?
Prioritize remediation. Validate affected assets and apply vendor fixes on an accelerated timeline.
Overview
A memory initialization issue was addressed
A memory initialization issue was addressed. This issue is fixed in macOS Big Sur 11.0.1, watchOS 7.1, iOS 12.4.9, watchOS 6.2.9, Security Update 2020-006 High Sierra, Security Update 2020-006 Mojave, iOS 14.2 and iPadOS 14.2, watchOS 5.3.9, macOS Catalina 10.15.7 Supplemental Update, macOS Catalina 10.15.7 Update.
A malicious application may be able to disclose kernel memory.
Vendor
Product
Affected
Status
Apple
watchOS
Before 7.1
Affected
Apple
iOS and iPadOS
Before 14.2
Affected
Apple
macOS
Before 11.0
Affected
Apple
macOS
Before 12.4
Affected
Apple
macOS
Before 6.2
Affected
Apple
macOS
Before 5.3
Affected
Apple
macOS
Before 2020
Affected
Apple
macOS
Before 10.15
Affected
- Published
- 08 Dec 2020
- Exploitation Reported
- 03 Nov 2021
- Attack vector
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- Required
Tags
macos
ios
cisa
CVE References
- CVE Record CVE.org · CVE Record https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-27950
- 20201215 APPLE-SA-2020-12-14-4 Additional information for APPLE-SA-2020-11-13-1 macOS Big Sur 11.0.1 seclists.org · Mailing List http://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2020/Dec/32
- support.apple.com/en-us/HT211931 support.apple.com · CVE Record https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT211931
- support.apple.com/en-us/HT211928 support.apple.com · CVE Record https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT211928
- support.apple.com/en-us/HT211929 support.apple.com · CVE Record https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT211929
- support.apple.com/en-us/HT211940 support.apple.com · CVE Record https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT211940
- support.apple.com/en-us/HT211944 support.apple.com · CVE Record https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT211944
- support.apple.com/en-us/HT211945 support.apple.com · CVE Record https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT211945
- support.apple.com/en-us/HT211946 support.apple.com · CVE Record https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT211946
- support.apple.com/en-us/HT211947 support.apple.com · CVE Record https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT211947
- packetstormsecurity.com/files/161296/XNU-Kernel-Mach-Message-Trailer... packetstormsecurity.com · CVE Record http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/161296/XNU-Kernel-Mach-Message-T...
Exploitation evidence
Why KEV Intelligence marks this CVE as exploited
Third-party attestation and first-party sensor observation are shown separately so teams can judge the evidence chain.
Exploited in the wild
CISA
Independent exploitation attestation added to the KEV Intelligence record.
Known exploited vulnerability sources
Per-source evidence links for KEV attestations are available through the KEV Intelligence Pro API.
Learn about Pro API access| Source | Added |
|---|---|
| CISA First | 2021-11-03 00:00 UTC |
Detection
Operational artifacts and observed signals
Make the evidence actionable in scanner, SOC, and edge-control workflows.
Observed signals
- Request targets
- 0
- User-Agents
- 0
Raw values available in Pro and Enterprise.
Scanner coverage
No scanner integrations recorded yet.
Virtual patch status
No KEV Intelligence virtual patch is currently available. Future rules ship for ModSecurity, Cloudflare, and AWS WAF.
Learn about virtual patches →No detection artifacts or sensor request patterns are available for this CVE yet.
Check back as sensor telemetry and scanner integrations are updated.
Risk and context
Severity, weaknesses, and research context
CVSS v3.1
5.5
Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
EPSS
16.4%
Weaknesses
All CVSS Scores
CVSS v3.1
5.5
Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
CVSS v2.0
7.1
High
AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:N/A:N
Timeline
From disclosure to observed exploitation
-
Added to CISA KEV
Listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog
-
CVE published
Vulnerability disclosed publicly
-
CVE ID reserved
Identifier reserved by the CNA
Pro API
Automate this intelligence
Confidence, exploit status, sensor telemetry, PoCs, scanner integrations, mentions, and tags are available programmatically for VM, SOC, and CTI workflows.
- Evidence confidence and provenance
- First-party sensor telemetry
- PoC and scanner references
- Affected versions and enrichment
- Automation-ready JSON delivery
GET /api/v2/pro/kevs/CVE-2020-27950
Free JSON includes basic KEV fields{
"cve_id": "CVE-2020-27950",
"confidence": "Confirmed",
"cvss_score": 5.5,
"cvss_estimated": false,
"epss_score": 0.16354,
"exploit_status": {
"exploited_in_the_wild": true,
"active_exploitation_observed": false
},
"sensor_telemetry": { "attempts": 0, "sensors": 0 }
}Early warning alerts
Get alerts on high-impact exploitation
Receive curator-selected alerts when exploitation activity warrants attention. Each alert includes the evidence and context needed to decide what requires attention now.