dbcve.org
IpadosOperating system · Apple

CVE-2021-30686

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-09-08
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 7.5 / 11.4 or later.
See remediation →
58/100
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
An out-of-bounds read was addressed with improved bounds checking. This issue is fixed in tvOS 14.6, iOS 14.6 and iPadOS 14.6, Security Update 2021-003 Catalina, macOS Big Sur 11.4, watchOS 7.5. Processing a maliciously crafted audio file may disclose restricted memory.

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

An out-of-bounds read vulnerability in Apple's media processing stack allows disclosure of restricted memory when processing a maliciously crafted audio file. The vulnerability exists in the audio file parsing code across multiple Apple operating systems.

MitigationApply the available security updates (iOS 14.6, iPadOS 14.6, tvOS 14.6, watchOS 7.5, macOS Big Sur 11.4, Security Update 2021-003 Catalina) to all affected Apple devices 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:< 14.6
Iphone OsOperating system
Affected:< 14.6
Mac Os XOperating system
Affected:>= 10.15, <= 10.15.6= 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
None
User interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/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. Check iOS version on iPhones
    Go to Settings > General > About and look at the 'Version' field, or run 'sw_vers' in Terminal
    Affected if Version is lower than 14.6 (e.g., 14.5.x, 14.4.x, etc.)
  2. Check iPadOS version on iPads
    Go to Settings > General > About and look at the 'Version' field, or run 'sw_vers' in Terminal
    Affected if Version is lower than 14.6 (e.g., 14.5.x, 14.4.x, etc.)
  3. Check macOS version on Macs
    Click Apple menu > About This Mac, or run 'sw_vers' in Terminal
    Affected if Running macOS Catalina (10.15.x) where x is 0-6 or equals 7, OR running macOS Big Sur (11.x) where x is 0-3
  4. Check tvOS version on Apple TV
    Go to Settings > General > About > Version, or check via Xcode or Apple Configurator
    Affected if Version is lower than 14.6 (e.g., 14.5.x, 14.4.x, etc.)
  5. Check watchOS version on Apple Watch
    Open the Watch app on iPhone, go to My Watch > General > About, or check on the watch at Settings > General > About
    Affected if Version is lower than 7.5 (e.g., 7.4.x, 7.3.x, etc.)

If the device runs any of the listed Apple OS versions within the affected ranges and processes audio files, it is potentially vulnerable to CVE-2021-30686.

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 security updates (iOS 14.6, iPadOS 14.6, tvOS 14.6, watchOS 7.5, macOS Big Sur 11.4, Security Update 2021-003 Catalina) to all affected Apple devices to remediate this vulnerability.

Recommended fix High confidence

iOS 14.6, iPadOS 14.6, tvOS 14.6, watchOS 7.5, macOS Big Sur 11.4, or Security Update 2021-003 for Catalina

  1. Identify the current OS version on the affected device (iOS, iPadOS, tvOS, watchOS, or macOS)
  2. For iOS/iPadOS devices: Go to Settings > General > Software Update and install iOS/iPadOS 14.6 or later
  3. For macOS devices: Go to System Preferences > Software Update and install macOS Big Sur 11.4 or Security Update 2021-003 Catalina
  4. For tvOS devices: Go to Settings > System > Software Updates and install tvOS 14.6 or later
  5. For watchOS devices: Go to Settings > General > Software Update and install watchOS 7.5 or later
  6. After updating, verify the installed version matches or exceeds the fixed release
Caveat Standard minor OS updates typically have minimal breaking changes; however, users should review Apple's release notes for any known issues

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

Fix this in Ipados Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
17.0 hours of engineering $3,000
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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-2021-30686 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