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HighCISA KEVExploited in the wildPublic exploit

Neutron kernel type confusion privilege escalation in Apple iOS/macOS/watchOS

IdentifiersCVE-2020-27932CWE-843· Access of Resource Using…

CVE-2020-27932 is a kernel type confusion vulnerability in Apple operating systems. Apple states the issue was caused by improper state handling and was fixed with improved state handling. A malicious application may exploit the flaw to execute arbitrary code with kernel privileges. Supporting reporting on the Coruna exploit kit identifies this vulnerability as the privilege-escalation component codenamed "Neutron," affecting iOS 13.x and fixed in iOS 14.2. The vulnerability is therefore best characterized as a local kernel privilege-escalation bug arising from type confusion in kernel processing.

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ANALYST BRIEF

Impact, mitigation & remediation

What it means. What to do now. Patch path, mitigations, and the assume-compromise checklist.

Impact

What an attacker gets, and what they’ve been doing with it.

Successful exploitation allows arbitrary code execution in kernel context. This yields full privilege escalation from an unprivileged application to kernel privileges, enabling complete device compromise, bypass of OS security boundaries, access to protected kernel-managed resources, installation of persistent payloads, and use as a post-exploitation step in a larger exploit chain. The content also indicates the issue was actively exploited in the wild.

Mitigation

If you can’t patch tonight, do this now.

If immediate patching is not possible, reduce exposure by preventing installation and execution of untrusted or malicious applications, enforcing strong application control / MDM policy on managed Apple devices, and limiting use of devices that cannot be updated. Because the vulnerability is exploited by a malicious application and has been used as a privilege-escalation stage in exploit chains, minimizing untrusted code execution is the primary interim mitigation. Specific vendor mitigations beyond patching are not provided in the content.

Remediation

Patch, then assume compromise.

Apply Apple security updates that address CVE-2020-27932. The content states fixes are included in macOS Big Sur 11.0.1, macOS Catalina 10.15.7 Supplemental Update / Update, Security Update 2020-006 High Sierra, Security Update 2020-006 Mojave, iOS 14.2, iPadOS 14.2, iOS 12.4.9, watchOS 7.1, watchOS 6.2.9, and watchOS 5.3.9. For affected iOS 13.x devices, upgrading to iOS 14.2 or later remediates the issue.
PUBLIC EXPLOITS

Exploits

No public exploits tracked yet. Mallory keeps watching.

VALID 0 / 0 TOTALView more in app

No public exploit code observed for this vulnerability.

EXPOSURE SURFACE

Affected products & vendors

Products and vendors Mallory has correlated with this vulnerability. Open in Mallory to drill down to specific CPE configurations and version ranges.

VendorProductType
AppleIcloudapplication
AppleIpadosoperating_system
AppleIphone Osoperating_system
AppleItunesapplication
AppleMac Os Xoperating_system
AppleMacosoperating_system
AppleWatchosapplication

Vendor-confirmed product mapping. Mallory continuously reconciles this list against your asset inventory.

What this page doesn’t show

The version that knows your environment.

This page is what’s public. Mallory adds the parts that aren’t: which of your assets are affected, which adversaries are exploiting it right now, which detections to deploy, and what to do tonight.
Exposure mapping

Query your assets running an affected version, and investigate the blast radius.

Threat actor evidence8

Every observed campaign linking this CVE to a named adversary.

Associated malware13

Malware families riding this exploit, with evidence and IOCs.

Detection signatures2

YARA, Sigma, Snort, and vendor rules, auto-deployed to your SIEM.

Vendor-by-vendor mapping

Cross-references every affected SKU, including bundled OEM variants.

Social activity

Community discussion across Reddit, Mastodon, and other social sources.