CVE-2020-3873

Mail privacy bypass via setting propagation

Published Feb 27, 2020 · Updated Aug 4, 2024

Privacy control bypass in Apple iOS before 13.3.1 allows local users to trigger remote content loading in Mail previews despite the disabled setting. The Mail preview path failed to propagate the “Load remote content in messages” preference consistently, so some previews fetched remote resources when the control was turned off. The condition requires Mail previews on an affected build; it defeats the selected privacy control but does not grant code execution or broader device access.

CVSS severity3.3
Low
EPSS probability0.28%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Privacy control bypass in Apple iOS before 13.3.1 allows local users to trigger remote content loading in Mail previews despite the disabled setting. The Mail preview path failed to propagate the “Load remote content in messages” preference consistently, so some previews fetched remote resources when the control was turned off. The condition requires Mail previews on an affected build; it defeats the selected privacy control but does not grant code execution or broader device access.

The record

CVE
CVE-2020-3873
Published
Feb 27, 2020
Updated
Aug 4, 2024
Vendor
Apple
Product
iOS
Classifications
Unavailable
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Feb 27, 2020CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 4, 2024Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=unspecified <iOS 13.3.1 and iPadOS 13.3.1

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

Apple · iOSversion=unspecified <iOS 13.3.1 and iPadOS 13.3.1

Published CVSS scores

2.1NVDAV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:P/A:N
3.3NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

No sourced classifications are available.

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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