CVE-2021-1859
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 logic issue was addressed with improved state management. This issue is fixed in macOS Big Sur 11.3. Locked Notes content may have been unexpectedly unlocked.
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 confidenceA logic error in macOS Notes allowed locked note content to become unexpectedly unlocked due to improper state management. The vulnerability exists in the Notes application on macOS versions prior to 11.3, potentially exposing sensitive note contents without user intent.
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>= 11.0, < 11.3CVSS 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check macOS versionOpen Terminal and run: sw_vers -productVersionAffected if The version returned is 11.0, 11.1, 11.2, or 11.2.x (anything >= 11.0 and < 11.3)
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Confirm Notes application is presentCheck that /Applications/Notes.app exists on the systemAffected if Notes.app is installed on the affected macOS version
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Identify if locked notes existOpen Notes app and examine whether any notes have been locked with a password (look for lock icon next to note titles)Affected if Any password-protected locked notes exist on the system
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Verify Notes app bundle versionRight-click Notes.app in /Applications, select Get Info, or run: defaults read /Applications/Notes.app/Contents/Info CFBundleVersionAffected if Notes is running on macOS 11.0-11.2.x with locked notes present
You are affected if macOS is version 11.0, 11.1, or 11.2.x AND you have password-protected locked notes in the Notes application.
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 · scoped11.3
Apply macOS Big Sur 11.3 or later security updates to affected systems to remediate the vulnerability.
macOS Big Sur 11.3
- Back up important data on your Mac using Time Machine or another backup method
- Ensure your Mac has sufficient free disk space (recommended: at least 15GB free)
- Open System Preferences and click on 'Software Update'
- Click 'Check for Update' or wait for automatic detection
- If macOS Big Sur 11.3 is available, click 'Update Now' to download and install it
- Follow the on-screen prompts and allow the Mac to restart during the installation process
- After the update completes, verify the macOS version by clicking the Apple menu > About This Mac to confirm version 11.3 is installed
- Test the Notes application to confirm locked notes behave correctly
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing2.0 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 $1,664.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-1859 — 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-2021-1859 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