CVE-2021-1807
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 · uneditedA validation issue was addressed with improved input sanitization. This issue is fixed in iOS 14.5 and iPadOS 14.5, watchOS 7.4. A local user may be able to write arbitrary files.
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 confidenceThis is a local privilege escalation vulnerability in iOS/iPadOS/watchOS stemming from insufficient input validation. A local authenticated user can exploit improper input sanitization to write arbitrary files to the filesystem outside their intended permissions scope.
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< 14.5< 14.5< 7.4CVSS 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
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N
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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check iOS or iPadOS version on the deviceOpen Settings app, tap General, tap About, and read the version number shown next to 'Version'Affected if The version number is less than 14.5 (for example, 14.4.x or earlier)
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Check watchOS version on paired Apple WatchOpen the Watch app on the paired iPhone, go to General, tap About, and read the version numberAffected if The version number is less than 7.4 (for example, 7.3.x or earlier)
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Confirm device model eligibilityVerify the device is a supported model for iOS/iPadOS 14.5 or later - older devices that cannot update to 14.5 remain at riskAffected if The device cannot upgrade to iOS/iPadOS 14.5 or watchOS 7.4 due to hardware limitations
You are affected if any iOS/iPadOS device or Apple Watch runs a version below 14.5 or 7.4 respectively, and the device supports these updates.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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.
dbcve · scoped7.414.5
Apply the vendor-supplied patches by updating to iOS 14.5 and later, iPadOS 14.5 and later, or watchOS 7.4 and later.
iOS 14.5, iPadOS 14.5, watchOS 7.4
- Back up your device data before performing any OS upgrade
- Navigate to Settings > General > Software Update on your iPhone, iPad, or Apple Watch
- Download and install iOS 14.5 for iPhone, iPadOS 14.5 for iPad, or watchOS 7.4 for Apple Watch
- Verify the update was successful by checking Settings > General > About to confirm the version number
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,200.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-1807 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2021-1807 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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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.
- 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