dbcve.org
IpadosOperating system · Apple

CVE-2021-30687

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, Security Update 2021-004 Mojave, iOS 14.6 and iPadOS 14.6, Security Update 2021-003 Catalina, macOS Big Sur 11.4, watchOS 7.5. Processing a maliciously crafted image may lead to disclosure of user information.

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

Out-of-bounds read vulnerability in Apple's image processing components (likely CoreGraphics/ImageIO). Processing a maliciously crafted image allows reading memory outside allocated buffers, potentially exposing sensitive user information.

MitigationApply Apple security updates: iOS 14.6/iPadOS 14.6, tvOS 14.6, watchOS 7.5, macOS Big Sur 11.4, Security Update 2021-003 Catalina, Security Update 2021-004 Mojave.

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
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 iPhone
    Go to Settings > General > About and look at the Software Version field
    Affected if Version is less than 14.6 (for example, 14.5.x or earlier)
  2. Check iPadOS version on iPad
    Go to Settings > General > About and look at the Software Version field
    Affected if Version is less than 14.6 (for example, 14.5.x or earlier)
  3. Check macOS version on Mac
    Click Apple menu > About This Mac. The version number appears below the macOS name (for example, 11.3, 10.15.7, 10.14.6)
    Affected if Version is 10.14.x and within 10.14 through 10.14.5 or equals 10.14.6; OR version is 10.15.x and within 10.15 through 10.15.6 or equals 10.15.7; OR version is 11.x and less than 11.4 (for example, 11.0, 11.1, 11.2, 11.3)
  4. Check tvOS version on Apple TV
    Go to Settings > General > About > Version
    Affected if Version is less than 14.6 (for example, 14.5.x or earlier)
  5. Check watchOS version on Apple Watch
    Open the Watch app on iPhone, go to My Watch > General > About, and note the watchOS version
    Affected if Version is less than 7.5 (for example, 7.4.x or earlier)

If the device runs any of the listed OS versions below the fixed releases, processing a maliciously crafted image could trigger the out-of-bounds read in the image processing component.

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 Apple security updates: iOS 14.6/iPadOS 14.6, tvOS 14.6, watchOS 7.5, macOS Big Sur 11.4, Security Update 2021-003 Catalina, Security Update 2021-004 Mojave.

Recommended fix High confidence

iOS 14.6, iPadOS 14.6, macOS Big Sur 11.4, Security Update 2021-003 Catalina, Security Update 2021-004 Mojave, tvOS 14.6, watchOS 7.5

  1. For iPhone and iPad: Go to Settings > General > Software Update and install iOS/iPadOS 14.6 or later
  2. For macOS Big Sur (11.x): Go to System Preferences > Software Update and install macOS Big Sur 11.4 or later
  3. For macOS Catalina (10.15): Apply Security Update 2021-003 Catalina through System Preferences > Software Update
  4. For macOS Mojave (10.14): Apply Security Update 2021-004 Mojave through System Preferences > Software Update
  5. For Apple TV: Go to Settings > System > Software Updates and install tvOS 14.6 or later
  6. For Apple Watch: On your iPhone, open the Watch app, go to My Watch > General > Software Update and install watchOS 7.5 or later
Caveat Point release updates typically have minimal compatibility impact; ensure backup before updating

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

Fix this in Ipados Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,770
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,832.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-30687 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2021-30687 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