What is CVE-2019-8605?

CVE-2019-8605 is a high-severity vulnerability in Apple iOS, classified under Use After Free. CVSS score: 7.8/10. Published 2019-12-18.

How severe is CVE-2019-8605?

High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 7.8 out of 10.

Is CVE-2019-8605 known to be exploited?

Yes. CVE-2019-8605 is listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2022-06-27), indicating it is being actively exploited. 13 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed.

Use After Free in Apple iOS

CVE-2019-8605

A use after free issue was addressed with improved memory management. This issue is fixed in iOS 12.3, macOS Mojave 10.14.5, tvOS 12.3, watchOS 5.2.1. A malicious application may be able to execute arbitrary code with system privileges.

Vulnerability class: Use-After-Free

Published 2019-12-18 · last modified 2026-06-17.

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 7.8 (High). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.

EPSS exploit prediction

EPSS: 0.176 (97.1th percentile), scored 2026-10-19.

Moderate probability of exploitation in the next 30 days — watch for active exploitation reports. 97th percentile — 97.1% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.

EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.175 · newest: 0.176 · change: +0.001

Affected products

Apple iOS — versions unspecified
Apple Iphone OS
Apple macOS — versions unspecified
Apple Mac OS X
Apple tvOS — versions unspecified
Apple watchOS — versions unspecified

Weakness classification (CWE)

CWE-416 — Use After Free

CISA KEV (Known Exploited Vulnerabilities)

This CVE is on the CISA KEV catalog, added on 2022-06-27. CISA KEV inclusion means CISA has confirmed in-the-wild exploitation; US federal agencies are required to remediate within a published due date.

BOD 22-01 due date: 2022-07-18.

Required action: Apply updates per vendor instructions.

Public proof-of-concept exploits

References

support.apple.com/HT210118 (Release Notes, Vendor Advisory)
support.apple.com/HT210119 (Release Notes, Vendor Advisory)
support.apple.com/HT210120 (Release Notes, Vendor Advisory)
support.apple.com/HT210122 (Release Notes, Vendor Advisory)
134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0 (US Government Resource)

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2019-8605?: CVE-2019-8605 is a high-severity vulnerability in Apple iOS, classified under Use After Free. CVSS score: 7.8/10. Published 2019-12-18.
How severe is CVE-2019-8605?: High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 7.8 out of 10.
Is CVE-2019-8605 known to be exploited?: Yes. CVE-2019-8605 is listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2022-06-27), indicating it is being actively exploited. 13 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed.