dbcve.org
IpadosOperating system · Apple

CVE-2021-1875

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-09-08
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 7.4 / 11.3 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
A double free issue was addressed with improved memory management. This issue is fixed in Security Update 2021-002 Catalina, Security Update 2021-003 Mojave, iOS 14.5 and iPadOS 14.5, watchOS 7.4, tvOS 14.5, macOS Big Sur 11.3. Processing a maliciously crafted file may lead to heap corruption.

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 · high confidence

A double-free memory corruption vulnerability in Apple products (iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, tvOS, macOS) allows heap corruption when processing a maliciously crafted file. The vulnerability stems from improper memory management during file parsing, potentially enabling arbitrary code execution.

MitigationApply the vendor-supplied security updates (iOS 14.5, iPadOS 14.5, watchOS 7.4, tvOS 14.5, macOS Big Sur 11.3, Security Update 2021-002/2021-003) to all affected devices and systems.

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
Mac Os XOperating system
Affected:= 10.14= 10.14.0= 10.14.1= 10.14.2= 10.14.3= 10.14.4= 10.14.5= 10.14.6= 10.15= 10.15.1= 10.15.2= 10.15.3
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
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. Check iOS version on iPhone
    Go to Settings > General > About > Version and note the displayed version number (e.g., 14.4.1)
    Affected if The version is less than 14.5 (e.g., 14.4, 14.3, etc.)
  2. Check iPadOS version on iPad
    Go to Settings > General > About > Version and note the displayed version number
    Affected if The version is less than 14.5
  3. Check macOS version on Mac
    Click the Apple menu > About This Mac and note the version number (e.g., 11.2.3, 10.15.7)
    Affected if The version is 10.14.x, 10.15.x, or between 11.0 and 11.2.x (anything less than 11.3)
  4. Check watchOS version on Apple Watch
    Open the Watch app on paired iPhone, go to My Watch > General > About and note the watchOS version
    Affected if The version is less than 7.4
  5. Check tvOS version on Apple TV
    Go to Settings > General > About > Version on Apple TV and note the version number
    Affected if The version is less than 14.5

If any Apple device (iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, or Apple TV) runs a version lower than the patched release (iOS/iPadOS/tvOS < 14.5, watchOS < 7.4, or macOS < 11.3 for Big Sur / specific 10.14/10.15 versions), the device is vulnerable.

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 (iOS 14.5, iPadOS 14.5, watchOS 7.4, tvOS 14.5, macOS Big Sur 11.3, Security Update 2021-002/2021-003) to all affected devices and systems.

Recommended fix High confidence

iOS 14.5+, iPadOS 14.5+, watchOS 7.4+, tvOS 14.5+, macOS Big Sur 11.3+, Security Update 2021-002 (Catalina), Security Update 2021-003 (Mojave)

  1. For iPhone: Go to Settings > General > Software Update and install iOS 14.5 or later
  2. For iPad: Go to Settings > General > Software Update and install iPadOS 14.5 or later
  3. For Apple Watch: Open the Watch app on iPhone, go to My Watch > General > Software Update and install watchOS 7.4 or later
  4. For Apple TV: Go to Settings > System > Software Updates and install tvOS 14.5 or later
  5. For macOS Big Sur (11.0-11.2): Go to System Preferences > Software Update and install macOS 11.3 or later
  6. For macOS Catalina (10.14.x): Install Security Update 2021-002 from Apple Support downloads
  7. For macOS Mojave (10.14.x): Install Security Update 2021-003 from Apple Support downloads
Caveat Standard risk of minor app incompatibilities with new OS version; backup recommended before updating

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
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-2021-1875 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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