# CVE-2020-9868: Security feature bypass in iOS

> Attackers can impersonate trusted websites by exploiting certificate validation flaws in administrator-added certificates on Apple operating systems.

- **Severity:** Critical 9.1 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 22 Oct 2020
- **Updated:** 4 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-8m82-p7m3-cc92

## What is CVE-2020-9868?

CVE-2020-9868 is a critical vulnerability in Apple Ipados, published on 22 Oct 2020. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

A certificate validation issue existed when processing administrator added certificates. This issue was addressed with improved certificate validation. This issue is fixed in iOS 13.6 and iPadOS 13.6, macOS Catalina 10.15.6, tvOS 13.4.8, watchOS 6.2.8. An attacker may have been able to impersonate a trusted website using shared key material for an administrator added certificate.

Weakness: CWE-295 (Improper Certificate Validation)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2020-9868?

It affects 5 products.


Products: Apple Ipados, Apple Iphone Os, Apple Mac Os X, Apple Tvos, Apple Watchos.

## How do I fix CVE-2020-9868?

No fix has been published for CVE-2020-9868 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2020-9868 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2020-9868 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Apple Ipados

- [CVE-2025-43300](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-43300/): Apple iOS, iPadOS, and macOS Out-of-Bounds Write (critical 10.0, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2025-24201](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-24201/): Apple Multiple Products WebKit Out-of-Bounds Write (critical 10.0, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2025-24085](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-24085/): Apple Multiple Products Use-After-Free (critical 10.0, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2025-31200](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-31200/): Apple Multiple Products Memory Corruption (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2025-31201](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-31201/): Apple Multiple Products Arbitrary Read and Write (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2020-9868 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2020-9868 is a critical vulnerability in Apple Ipados, published on 22 Oct 2020. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2020-9868 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Apple Ipados. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-9868/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-9868/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-9868
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-9868
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2020-9868

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-9868/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.