Threats / Apple / CVE-2019-6223
CVE-2019-6223
· EUVD no mirror located
· GCVE no mirror located
Verified 2026-08-04
Apple iOS and macOS vulnerability
Apple iOS and macOS Group FaceTime vulnerability allows call initiators to cause recipient devices to answer without user interaction, enabling unauthorized call establishment.
Verdict
Today item — known-exploited.
A call initiator can exploit this vulnerability to establish FaceTime calls on recipient devices without explicit user consent or awareness. The vulnerability has been observed in active exploitation in the wild.
CISA KEV Yes · 2021-11-034EPSS 0.02629 (verify live)5CVSS 7.5 (CISA)3CISA SSVC Exploitation: active · Automatable: no · Impact: total3
01
Is it exploitable?
— the evidence, ranked above the scoreReported exploitation
2 independent public reports of in-the-wild exploitation are cataloged.Distinct reporting sources (vendor, incident response, government); open them for the underlying claims.
Exploited in the wild
Listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2021-11-03).
Probability (EPSS)
EPSS 0.02629 — modeled likelihood of exploitation activity.EPSS is a daily-changing model output — open the source for today's value.
Severity / affected
CVSS 7.5 (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N) · Affected: Apple, iOS and macOS. Confirm exact fixed builds in the vendor advisory.CVSS — CISA-assigned via the ADP container (CVE.org), version 3.1; the CNA left no metrics, so CISA's own score is used ahead of NVD.
CISA SSVC (triage disposition)
Exploitation: active · Automatable: no · Technical Impact: totalCISA's own stakeholder-specific triage inputs, published in the CVE record (CISA Coordinator role). NOTE: this is CISA's three decision points; the final Act/Attend/Track decision also requires a Mission & Well-being input not published here, so no overall decision is asserted.
Currency of the record
CISA added this to its KEV catalog 974 days after the CVE record was published.KEV lag = CISA-KEV dateAdded − CVE.org datePublished; a floor on how long the known-exploited flaw sat in the public record before the federal catalog listed it. Severity/weakness here is CNA- or CISA-assigned (current at disclosure), independent of NVD's analysis backlog.
02
Who’s exploiting it?
— attribution turns risk into urgencyAttribution not established
No confirmed (advisory-backed) threat-actor attribution is established for this record. Absence of a named actor is not absence of compromise — see Coverage & confidence.
03
Why it matters
— the attack path, told twice: adversary, then board1
Front door — unauthenticated access narrative 1
Attacker
I initiate a Group FaceTime call targeting a specific recipient device.
Business
Recipient's device is compromised without user knowledge, creating privacy and security exposure.
2
Keys to the kingdom — privilege/identity takeover narrative 2
Attacker
I cause the recipient's device to answer the call automatically, bypassing normal user interaction requirements.
Business
Attacker gains unauthorized access to device microphone, camera, and real-time communications without user awareness or consent.
3
Lateral reach — past segmentation narrative 3
Attacker
I maintain an active call session to monitor or record the recipient's environment and communications.
Business
Sensitive personal, business, or location information is exposed to unauthorized parties, creating liability and reputational damage.
04
What to do
— defensible action- Remediate per the vendor advisory — confirm the fixed build for your version and verify exposure.1
Say it to the boardA vulnerability with this evidence profile is a defensible budget line, not a backlog ticket — fund the change against the proof above.
05