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Ipad OsOperating system · Apple

CVE-2021-1793

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-04-02
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 7.3 / 10.15.7 or later.
See remediation →
81/100
Remediation priority · High
No privileges

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
This issue was addressed with improved checks. This issue is fixed in macOS Big Sur 11.2, Security Update 2021-001 Catalina, Security Update 2021-001 Mojave, watchOS 7.3, tvOS 14.4, iOS 14.4 and iPadOS 14.4. Processing a maliciously crafted image may lead to arbitrary code execution.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · moderate confidence

A vulnerability in Apple's image processing framework allows arbitrary code execution when processing a maliciously crafted image file. The issue stemmed from insufficient validation checks during image parsing, likely allowing memory corruption that could be exploited to execute arbitrary code with the privileges of the viewing application.

MitigationApply the relevant Apple security update (macOS Big Sur 11.2+/Security Update 2021-001, watchOS 7.3, tvOS 14.4, iOS/iPadOS 14.4) to all affected devices. Prioritize devices that process untrusted image content from external sources.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
Ipad OsOperating system
Affected:< 14.4
Iphone OsOperating system
Affected:< 14.4
Mac Os XOperating system
Affected:>= 10.15, < 10.15.7= 10.15.7
macOSOperating system
Affected:>= 11.0.1, < 11.2
TvosOperating system
Affected:< 14.4
WatchosOperating system
Affected:< 7.3

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify the Apple device and operating system
    On Mac, run 'sw_vers' in Terminal. On iPhone/iPad, go to Settings > General > About. On Apple Watch, use the Watch app on paired iPhone > General > About. On Apple TV, go to Settings > General > About.
    Affected if The device is an Apple product running one of the affected operating systems listed in the CVE.
  2. Check the installed macOS version
    Run 'sw_vers' on Mac and note the BuildVersion and ProductVersion. For macOS 10.15.x, note the exact minor version (e.g., 10.15.7). For macOS 11.x, note the minor version (e.g., 11.0.1, 11.1, 11.1).
    Affected if macOS 10.15.7 is installed, or macOS 10.15.x versions before 10.15.7, or macOS 11.0.1 through 11.1.x (versions below 11.2).
  3. Check the installed iOS or iPadOS version
    On the device, go to Settings > General > About and note the version number (e.g., 14.3, 14.3.1).
    Affected if iOS or iPadOS versions below 14.4 are installed.
  4. Check the installed watchOS version
    Open the Watch app on the paired iPhone, select your watch, go to General > About, and note the version. Alternatively, on Apple Watch go to Settings > General > About.
    Affected if watchOS versions below 7.3 are installed.
  5. Check the installed tvOS version
    On Apple TV, go to Settings > General > About and note the tvOS version number.
    Affected if tvOS versions below 14.4 are installed.
  6. Determine image processing exposure
    The vulnerability is triggered when the system processes a maliciously crafted image file. Any application that parses image files (Preview, Safari, Photos, third-party apps) could trigger the flaw. No specific configuration change is required for exploitation; the issue is in the underlying image parsing framework.
    Affected if The affected OS version is running and the device has the capability to open or preview image files from any source.

The environment is affected if any Apple device is running an OS version lower than 14.4 for iOS/iPadOS/tvOS/watchOS, macOS 10.15.7 or earlier 10.15.x, or macOS 11.0.1 through 11.1.x.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

From vendor data
Upgrade available Upgrade to 7.3 / 10.15.7 / 11.2 or later
Fixed in 7.310.15.711.2
Interim mitigation

Apply the relevant Apple security update (macOS Big Sur 11.2+/Security Update 2021-001, watchOS 7.3, tvOS 14.4, iOS/iPadOS 14.4) to all affected devices. Prioritize devices that process untrusted image content from external sources.

Fix this in Ipad Os Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
14.0 hours of engineering $2,490
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Scan for this in your stack

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2021-1793 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data