dbcve.org
IpadosOperating system · Apple

CVE-2021-1815

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-09-08
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 7.4 / 11.3 or later.
See remediation →
57/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Zero-click

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
A parsing issue in the handling of directory paths was addressed with improved path validation. This issue is fixed in macOS Big Sur 11.3, iOS 14.5 and iPadOS 14.5, watchOS 7.4, tvOS 14.5. A local user may be able to modify protected parts of the file system.

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 path parsing vulnerability in Apple operating systems allowed local users to bypass directory path validation and modify protected parts of the file system, essentially a directory traversal issue.

MitigationApply the vendor-supplied security updates: macOS Big Sur 11.3, iOS 14.5, iPadOS 14.5, watchOS 7.4, or tvOS 14.5 depending on the affected device.

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
IpadosOperating system
Affected:< 14.5
Iphone OsOperating system
Affected:< 14.5
macOSOperating system
Affected:>= 11.0, < 11.3
TvosOperating system
Affected:< 14.5
WatchosOperating system
Affected:< 7.4

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
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 checks

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

  1. Check macOS version on Mac computers
    Open System Preferences > About, or run `sw_vers -productVersion` in Terminal
    Affected if version is 11.0, 11.1, 11.2, or any 11.x version below 11.3 (for example 11.0, 11.1, 11.2)
  2. Check iOS version on iPhone
    Go to Settings > General > About, or connect to computer and view in Finder/iTunes
    Affected if version is 14.4 or below (any version less than 14.5)
  3. Check iPadOS version on iPad
    Go to Settings > General > About, or connect to computer and view in Finder/iTunes
    Affected if version is 14.4 or below (any version less than 14.5)
  4. Check watchOS version on Apple Watch
    Open the Watch app on iPhone, go to General > About, or check on the watch in Settings > About
    Affected if version is 7.3 or below (any version less than 7.4)
  5. Check tvOS version on Apple TV
    Go to Settings > General > About > Version, or check in the Home screen settings
    Affected if version is 14.4 or below (any version less than 14.5)

You are affected if any device runs macOS 11.0-11.2, iOS/iPadOS 14.4 or earlier, watchOS 7.3 or earlier, or tvOS 14.4 or earlier.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 7.4 / 11.3 / 14.5 or later
Fixed in 7.411.314.5
Interim mitigation

Apply the vendor-supplied security updates: macOS Big Sur 11.3, iOS 14.5, iPadOS 14.5, watchOS 7.4, or tvOS 14.5 depending on the affected device.

Recommended fix High confidence

iOS 14.5, iPadOS 14.5, macOS Big Sur 11.3, watchOS 7.4, tvOS 14.5

  1. For iOS/iPadOS: Go to Settings > General > Software Update and install iOS/iPadOS 14.5 or later
  2. For macOS: Open System Preferences > Software Update and install macOS Big Sur 11.3 or later
  3. For watchOS: On iPhone, open Watch app, go to General > Software Update and install watchOS 7.4 or later
  4. For tvOS: Go to Settings > System > Software Updates and install tvOS 14.5 or later
  5. After updating, verify the installed version meets or exceeds the fixed release for your device

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Ipados Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,750
Get the upgrade done

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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-2021-1815 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