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CVE-2019-6223Apple iOS and macOS Group Facetime Vulnerability

Patch nowHigh7.5Exploited, CISA due date 2022-05-03EPSS 2.6%, higher than 86% of scored CVEs

CVE-2019-6223 is a vulnerability in Apple iOS and macOS, rated high (7.5 on CVSS 3.1).

Why this priority: Exploited in the wild: listed in CISA's KEV catalog.

Published · Updated · NVD status: Analyzed

What it is

The record does not classify the weakness yet; the description below says what the reporter found.

How it is reached

An attacker can exploit it over the network, without an account, and nobody has to click anything.

What an attacker gains

A successful attack can read the data it protects.

Is it being exploited?

CISA added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on 2021-11-03: it is being exploited in the wild. EPSS estimates a 2.6% chance of exploitation activity in the next 30 days, higher than 86% of scored CVEs.

What to do

  1. Treat it as urgent: it is on CISA's KEV list. CISA's deadline for US federal agencies: 2022-05-03.
  2. No fixed version is listed for Apple iOS and macOS itself; fixed versions for the other affected products are listed on this page.
  3. Until it is patched, keep it off the internet or behind a VPN, allowlist or authenticating proxy.
  4. Check exposed instances for signs of compromise, not only for the version.

Description from NVD

A logic issue existed in the handling of Group FaceTime calls. The issue was addressed with improved state management. This issue is fixed in iOS 12.1.4, macOS Mojave 10.14.3 Supplemental Update. The initiator of a Group FaceTime call may be able to cause the recipient to answer.

What this means for your architecture.

A CVE names a product. Whether it matters depends on where that product sits in your systems: what reaches it, which trust boundary it guards and what it can reach once compromised. Veriom maps your components, their relationships and your trust boundaries from your code, cloud and delivery evidence, so you can see where a component like this sits. The radar itself does not look at your systems.

Components it touches

  • Operating systems on servers, workstations or devices. Everything on the host inherits the flaw.

Trust boundaries in play

  • Internet-facing entry points. No account is needed. Any instance reachable from outside your perimeter, through a load balancer, gateway, VPN or exposed admin port, is in scope.

Questions to answer about your own systems

  • Where does Apple iOS and macOS run in your systems, and at which version?
  • Which of those instances can be reached from the internet or partner networks?
  • What can it reach once compromised: which data stores, secrets and services?

Sources

  • CVE records and CVSS scores from the NVD CVE API. This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD.
  • Exploitation status from CISA’s Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog.
  • Exploit likelihood from FIRST’s Exploit Prediction Scoring System (EPSS), refreshed daily.
  • Explanations are written by Veriom from fixed templates over each record’s data, not by a person reviewing each CVE. Descriptions are quoted from the records as published.