What is CVE-2020-9864?

CVE-2020-9864 is a critical-severity vulnerability in Apple macOS. CVSS score: 9.8/10. Published 2020-10-16.

How severe is CVE-2020-9864?

Critical severity. CVSS v3 base score is 9.8 out of 10.

Vulnerability in Apple macOS

CVE-2020-9864

A logic issue was addressed with improved restrictions. This issue is fixed in macOS Catalina 10.15.6. An application may be able to execute arbitrary code with kernel privileges.

Published 2020-10-16 · last modified 2026-06-17.

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 9.8 (Critical). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.

EPSS exploit prediction

EPSS: 0.024 (83.6th percentile), scored 2026-10-02.

Low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, but still tracked. 84th percentile — 83.6% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.

EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.024 · newest: 0.024 · change: 0.000

Affected products

Apple macOS — versions unspecified
Apple Mac OS X

References

support.apple.com/HT211289 (Vendor Advisory)

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2020-9864?: CVE-2020-9864 is a critical-severity vulnerability in Apple macOS. CVSS score: 9.8/10. Published 2020-10-16.
How severe is CVE-2020-9864?: Critical severity. CVSS v3 base score is 9.8 out of 10.