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IpadosOperating system · Apple

CVE-2021-1849

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-09-08
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 7.4 / 11.3 or later.
See remediation →
84/100
Remediation priority · High
Remotely reachable No privileges 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
An issue in code signature validation was addressed with improved checks. This issue is fixed in macOS Big Sur 11.3, iOS 14.5 and iPadOS 14.5, watchOS 7.4, tvOS 14.5. A malicious application may be able to bypass Privacy preferences.

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 code signature validation flaw in macOS/iOS/tvOS/watchOS allowed malicious applications to bypass Privacy preferences by exploiting insufficient validation checks in the code signature verification process, potentially enabling unauthorized access to sensitive user data or system resources.

MitigationApply the vendor-supplied patches: update to macOS Big Sur 11.3+, iOS 14.5+, iPadOS 14.5+, watchOS 7.4+, or tvOS 14.5+ to remediate this vulnerability.

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
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/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. Identify your Apple operating system product
    Determine which Apple platform your device runs: macOS (Mac computers), iOS (iPhone), iPadOS (iPad), tvOS (Apple TV), or watchOS (Apple Watch). This is typically visible in System Preferences > About or Settings > General > About.
    Affected if The device runs any of the affected Apple platforms (macOS, iOS, iPadOS, tvOS, or watchOS).
  2. Check macOS version on Mac computers
    Open Terminal and run: sw_vers -productVersion. Alternatively, go to Apple menu > About This Mac to view the macOS version number.
    Affected if The installed macOS version is 11.0 through 11.2.x (any version >= 11.0 but < 11.3). Versions 11.3 and later are not affected.
  3. Check iOS version on iPhone
    Open Settings > General > About and look at the 'Version' field. Alternatively, connect to a computer with iTunes/Finder and check the device summary.
    Affected if The installed iOS version is any version < 14.5 (including 14.4.x, 14.3.x, 14.2.x, 14.1.x, 14.0.x, and earlier).
  4. Check iPadOS version on iPad
    Open Settings > General > About and look at the 'Version' field.
    Affected if The installed iPadOS version is any version < 14.5.
  5. Check tvOS version on Apple TV
    Go to Settings > General > About > Version on the Apple TV device.
    Affected if The installed tvOS version is any version < 14.5.
  6. Check watchOS version on Apple Watch
    Open the Watch app on paired iPhone, go to My Watch > General > About, and check the watchOS version. Alternatively, check directly on the watch via Settings > General > About.
    Affected if The installed watchOS version is any version < 7.4.

You are affected if your device runs macOS 11.0-11.2.x, iOS/iPadOS < 14.5, tvOS < 14.5, or watchOS < 7.4, and if code signature validation is actively used by the system for application verification.

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 patches: update to macOS Big Sur 11.3+, iOS 14.5+, iPadOS 14.5+, watchOS 7.4+, or tvOS 14.5+ to remediate this vulnerability.

Recommended fix High confidence

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

  1. Check current OS version on the device (Settings > General > About on iOS/iPadOS, System Preferences > About on macOS, Settings > General on tvOS/watchOS)
  2. Update to iOS 14.5 or later for iPhone devices
  3. Update to iPadOS 14.5 or later for iPad devices
  4. Update to macOS Big Sur 11.3 or later for Mac devices
  5. Update to tvOS 14.5 or later for Apple TV devices
  6. Update to watchOS 7.4 or later for Apple Watch devices
  7. Verify the update was successful by checking the OS version again
Caveat Major OS version updates may introduce compatibility issues with older applications; test critical apps before full deployment

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
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
9.0 hours of engineering $1,600
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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-2021-1849 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