dbcve.org
IpadosOperating system · Apple

CVE-2021-30652

HIGH · 7.0 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-09-08
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 7.4 / 11.3 or later.
See remediation →
73/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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 race condition was addressed with additional validation. 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. A malicious application may be able to gain root privileges.

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 race condition in Apple operating systems (macOS, iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, tvOS) allowed a malicious application to gain root privileges. The vulnerability was addressed through additional validation checks.

MitigationApply the appropriate Apple security update: Security Update 2021-002 for Catalina, Security Update 2021-003 for Mojave, iOS/iPadOS 14.5, watchOS 7.4, tvOS 14.5, or macOS Big Sur 11.3 and later.

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, <= 10.14.5>= 10.15, <= 10.15.5= 10.14.6= 10.15.6= 10.15.7
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
High
Privileges
None
User interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/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 macOS version on Mac computers
    Open System Preferences > General, or run `sw_vers` in Terminal. Note the version number (for example, 10.15.7, 11.2, etc.)
    Affected if The version is 10.14.x up to 10.14.6, 10.15.x up to 10.15.7, or 11.0 to 11.2.x (any version >= 11.0 but < 11.3)
  2. Check iOS version on iPhone and iPad
    Open Settings > General > About on the device. Note the version number (for example, 14.4)
    Affected if The version is any release before 14.5 (for example, 14.4.1, 14.4, 13.x, etc.)
  3. Check iPadOS version on iPad
    Open Settings > General > About on the iPad. Note the version number
    Affected if The version is any release before 14.5
  4. Check tvOS version on Apple TV
    Open Settings > General > About on Apple TV. Note the version number
    Affected if The version is any release before 14.5
  5. Check watchOS version on Apple Watch
    Open the Watch app on paired iPhone, go to General > About. Note the version number
    Affected if The version is any release before 7.4

If the installed operating system version falls within any of the affected ranges listed (macOS 10.14.x through 10.14.6, 10.15.x through 10.15.7, 11.0 through 11.2.x; iOS/iPadOS before 14.5; tvOS before 14.5; watchOS before 7.4), the system is potentially affected by this privilege escalation vulnerability.

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 appropriate Apple security update: Security Update 2021-002 for Catalina, Security Update 2021-003 for Mojave, iOS/iPadOS 14.5, watchOS 7.4, tvOS 14.5, or macOS Big Sur 11.3 and later.

Recommended fix High confidence

iOS/iPadOS 14.5, macOS 11.3 (or Security Update 2021-002/2021-003 for older macOS), watchOS 7.4, tvOS 14.5

  1. Open Settings app on iOS/iPadOS device, go to General > Software Update, and install iOS/iPadOS 14.5
  2. For macOS: Open System Preferences > Software Update and install macOS Big Sur 11.3, or for older macOS versions install Security Update 2021-002 (Catalina) or Security Update 2021-003 (Mojave)
  3. For Apple Watch: Open the Watch app on iPhone, go to My Watch > General > Software Update and install watchOS 7.4
  4. For Apple TV: Go to Settings > System > Software Updates and install tvOS 14.5
  5. After updating, verify the update was successful by checking the OS version in Settings/About
Caveat Standard security update with no expected breaking changes; all users should update

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

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,560.

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-2021-30652 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