CVE-2020-9996 Use after free in iOS and iPadOS
A malicious application can exploit a use-after-free flaw to elevate privileges on Apple operating systems.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Not needed
- Attackable
- Local or same network only
- Victim action needed
- A user has to click or open something
- Fix
- None listed
What is CVE-2020-9996?
CVE-2020-9996 is a high-severity use after free vulnerability in Apple Ipados, published on 8 Dec 2020. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Official description
A use after free issue was addressed with improved memory management. This issue is fixed in macOS Big Sur 11.0.1, iOS 14.0 and iPadOS 14.0. A malicious application may be able to elevate privileges.
Weakness: CWE-416
Which versions are affected by CVE-2020-9996?
It affects 3 products.
Products include Apple Ipados, Apple Iphone Os, Apple Mac Os X.
How do I fix CVE-2020-9996?
No fix has been published for CVE-2020-9996 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.
Upgrade to the fixed version. These bugs are found with fuzzing and sanitisers and avoided by memory-safe languages. More about Use after free.
Is CVE-2020-9996 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2020-9996 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Other vulnerabilities in Apple Ipados
- CVE-2025-43300 Apple iOS, iPadOS, and macOS Out-of-Bounds Write
- CVE-2025-24201 Apple Multiple Products WebKit Out-of-Bounds Write
- CVE-2025-24085 Apple Multiple Products Use-After-Free
- CVE-2025-31200 Apple Multiple Products Memory Corruption
- CVE-2025-31201 Apple Multiple Products Arbitrary Read and Write
Sources
Also known as GHSA-gc87-63xf-6cg3.