PatchSiren cyber security CVE debrief
CVE-2020-9859 Apple CVE debrief
CVE-2020-9859 is an Apple Multiple Products code execution vulnerability that CISA added to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on 2021-11-03. Because it appears in KEV, defenders should treat it as a high-priority issue and apply Apple’s update guidance without delay across relevant environments.
- Vendor
- Apple
- Product
- Multiple Products
- CVSS
- Unknown
- CISA KEV
- Listed
- Original CVE published
- 2021-11-03
- Original CVE updated
- 2021-11-03
- Advisory published
- 2021-11-03
- Advisory updated
- 2021-11-03
Who should care
Organizations that manage Apple products or services should care, especially security teams responsible for endpoint fleets, privileged users, and externally reachable systems. Any environment that depends on Apple software should prioritize this CVE because CISA has flagged it as known exploited.
Technical summary
The supplied corpus identifies this issue only as a code execution vulnerability affecting Apple Multiple Products. The KEV listing confirms it is considered known exploited, but the corpus does not provide affected versions, attack vector details, or exploitation mechanics. The most reliable defensive interpretation from the supplied sources is that this vulnerability warrants prompt remediation using vendor instructions.
Defensive priority
High. CISA’s KEV placement indicates this is a known-exploited vulnerability, which makes timely patching more urgent than routine maintenance. The supplied due date in KEV is 2022-05-03, underscoring the need for rapid remediation in exposed or business-critical Apple environments.
Recommended defensive actions
- Apply Apple updates and remediation guidance as directed by the vendor.
- Inventory Apple products in the environment so affected assets can be identified quickly.
- Prioritize internet-facing, high-value, and user-facing Apple systems for verification and remediation.
- Validate that patching completed successfully and track any systems that remain outstanding.
- Monitor official Apple and CISA advisories for any additional guidance or clarification.
Evidence notes
This debrief is limited to the supplied CISA KEV record and official links. The corpus confirms the CVE, vendor, product family, vulnerability class, KEV date added, and due date. It does not include version ranges, root cause details, exploit chain details, or mitigation steps beyond applying vendor updates.
Sources and references
Verified primary and authoritative sources
-
CVE-2020-9859 CVE Program record
Publisher, destination, and source semantics verified
URL: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-9859
CVE Program - Official CVE Program record with source-provided CVE metadata.
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CVE-2020-9859 NVD vulnerability detail
Publisher, destination, and source semantics verified
URL: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-9859
NIST National Vulnerability Database - Official NIST NVD detail page and source-specific vulnerability assessment.
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CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog
Publisher, destination, and source semantics verified
URL: https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency - Official CISA catalog of vulnerabilities known to be exploited in the wild.
Supplemental references
-
Source item URL
Unverified legacy reference
URL: https://www.cisa.gov/sites/default/files/feeds/known_exploited_vulnerabilities.json
cisa_kev
Methodology and review provenance
AI-assisted synthesis based on stored public vulnerability evidence. System validation, approval state, and publication status do not by themselves establish human review of this revision. PatchSiren helps prioritize defensive review and does not prove exposure or remediation on any system.