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IpadosOperating system · Apple

CVE-2021-30677

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-09-08
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 7.5 / 11.4 or later.
See remediation →
90/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
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
This issue was addressed with improved environment sanitization. This issue is fixed in tvOS 14.6, iOS 14.6 and iPadOS 14.6, Security Update 2021-004 Catalina, Security Update 2021-005 Mojave, macOS Big Sur 11.4, watchOS 7.5. A malicious application may be able to break out of its sandbox.

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 sandbox escape vulnerability in multiple Apple operating systems (iOS, iPadOS, tvOS, macOS, watchOS) that allows a malicious local application to break out of its sandbox containment due to improper environment sanitization. This is a privilege escalation issue enabling code execution outside the intended sandbox boundary.

MitigationApply the available vendor patches: iOS 14.6, iPadOS 14.6, tvOS 14.6, macOS Big Sur 11.4, watchOS 7.5, Security Update 2021-004 (Catalina), and Security Update 2021-005 (Mojave) to all affected devices.

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:< 14.6
Iphone OsOperating system
Affected:< 14.6
Mac Os XOperating system
Affected:>= 10.14, <= 10.14.5>= 10.15, <= 10.15.6= 10.14.6= 10.15.7
macOSOperating system
Affected:>= 11.0, < 11.4
TvosOperating system
Affected:< 14.6
WatchosOperating system
Affected:< 7.5

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
Changed
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/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. Identify the installed operating system
    On macOS, go to Apple menu > About This Mac to see the version number. On iOS/iPadOS, go to Settings > General > About. On tvOS, go to Settings > General > About. On watchOS, go to Settings > General > About.
    Affected if Any Apple device running an unpatched OS version.
  2. Determine the exact macOS version number
    Open Terminal and run 'sw_vers' or 'system_profiler SPSoftwareDataType' to get the precise macOS build version (e.g., 10.15.7, 11.3.1).
    Affected if Running macOS with a version that falls within the affected ranges.
  3. Check if macOS is in the affected Big Sur range
    If running macOS 11.x (Big Sur), verify the version is lower than 11.4. The About This Mac window shows the major version (e.g., 11.3).
    Affected if macOS Big Sur versions 11.0 through 11.3.x are affected.
  4. Check if macOS is in the affected Catalina range
    If running macOS 10.15 (Catalina), verify the version is 10.15.7 or between 10.15 and 10.15.6.
    Affected if macOS Catalina versions 10.15, 10.15.1, 10.15.2, 10.15.3, 10.15.4, 10.15.5, 10.15.6, or 10.15.7 are affected.
  5. Check if macOS is in the affected Mojave range
    If running macOS 10.14 (Mojave), verify the version is 10.14.6 or between 10.14 and 10.14.5.
    Affected if macOS Mojave versions 10.14, 10.14.1, 10.14.2, 10.14.3, 10.14.4, 10.14.5, or 10.14.6 are affected.
  6. Check iOS, iPadOS, tvOS, or watchOS version
    On iOS/iPadOS, go to Settings > General > About to see the version (e.g., 14.5). On Apple TV, go to Settings > General > About. On Apple Watch, go to Settings > General > About.
    Affected if iOS or iPadOS versions lower than 14.6, tvOS versions lower than 14.6, or watchOS versions lower than 7.5 are affected.

A device is affected if it runs any macOS version in the specified Catalina, Mojave, or Big Sur ranges, or runs iOS/iPadOS, tvOS, or watchOS versions below 14.6, 14.6, and 7.5 respectively.

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 7.5 / 11.4 / 14.6 or later
Fixed in 7.511.414.6
Interim mitigation

Apply the available vendor patches: iOS 14.6, iPadOS 14.6, tvOS 14.6, macOS Big Sur 11.4, watchOS 7.5, Security Update 2021-004 (Catalina), and Security Update 2021-005 (Mojave) to all affected devices.

Recommended fix High confidence

iOS 14.6 / iPadOS 14.6 / tvOS 14.6 / watchOS 7.5 / macOS Big Sur 11.4 / Security Update 2021-004 Catalina / Security Update 2021-005 Mojave

  1. Identify the device type (iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, or Apple Watch)
  2. Check the current OS version on the device
  3. For iPhone or iPad: Upgrade to iOS 14.6 or iPadOS 14.6
  4. For Mac: Upgrade to macOS Big Sur 11.4, or apply Security Update 2021-004 Catalina or Security Update 2021-005 Mojave as appropriate
  5. For Apple TV: Upgrade to tvOS 14.6
  6. For Apple Watch: Upgrade to watchOS 7.5
  7. Verify the upgrade was successful by checking the OS version again
Caveat Standard minor OS updates; review Apple's release notes for any app compatibility notices

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

Fix this in Ipados Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
5.0 hours of engineering $890
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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-2021-30677 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