dbcve.org
IpadosOperating system · Apple

CVE-2021-30740

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-09-08
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 7.5 / 11.4 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 logic issue was addressed with improved validation. This issue is fixed in macOS Big Sur 11.4, tvOS 14.6, watchOS 7.5, iOS 14.6 and iPadOS 14.6. A malicious application may be able to execute arbitrary code with kernel 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 logic validation flaw in Apple operating systems allowed a locally planted malicious application to bypass security restrictions and execute code at the kernel (ring 0) privilege level. The vulnerability stemmed from inadequate validation checks in privileged code paths, enabling privilege escalation from userland to kernel mode.

MitigationApply the vendor-supplied security updates for the affected Apple operating systems (macOS Big Sur 11.4+, tvOS 14.6+, watchOS 7.5+, iOS/iPadOS 14.6+) to resolve the logic validation issue. Avoid installing untrusted applications to reduce attack surface.

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
macOSOperating system
Affected:>= 11.0.1, < 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
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. Identify the operating system running on the Apple device
    Determine whether the device runs macOS, iOS, iPadOS, tvOS, or watchOS. For macOS, use 'sw_vers' in Terminal. For iOS/iPadOS, go to Settings > General > About. For tvOS, go to Settings > General > About. For watchOS, open the Watch app on iPhone and go to General > About.
    Affected if The device runs any of the affected Apple operating systems.
  2. Check the installed macOS version
    Run 'sw_vers -productVersion' in Terminal or check System Preferences > About. Compare the version to the affected range: 11.0.1 through 11.3.x.
    Affected if The macOS version is 11.0.1, 11.1, 11.2, 11.3, or 11.3.x.
  3. Check the installed iOS or iPadOS version
    Go to Settings > General > About on the device and note the version number. Compare to the affected range: any version below 14.6.
    Affected if The iOS or iPadOS version is below 14.6 (e.g., 14.5, 14.4, 13.x, etc.).
  4. Check the installed tvOS version
    Go to Settings > General > About on the Apple TV and note the version number. Compare to the affected range: any version below 14.6.
    Affected if The tvOS version is below 14.6.
  5. Check the installed watchOS version
    Open the Watch app on the paired iPhone, go to General > About, and note the watchOS version. Compare to the affected range: any version below 7.5.
    Affected if The watchOS version is below 7.5.
  6. Determine if the device allows installation of untrusted applications
    On iOS/iPadOS, go to Settings > General > VPN & Device Management (or Settings > Profiles & Device Management) to check for installed configuration profiles or enterprise apps. On macOS, check System Preferences > Security & Privacy for app installation restrictions.
    Affected if The device has any untrusted or enterprise applications installed, which could serve as the local planting vector for exploitation.

The device is affected if it runs any version within the affected ranges (macOS 11.0.1-11.3.x, iOS/iPadOS below 14.6, tvOS below 14.6, or watchOS below 7.5) and has the capability to run locally planted applications.

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 vendor-supplied security updates for the affected Apple operating systems (macOS Big Sur 11.4+, tvOS 14.6+, watchOS 7.5+, iOS/iPadOS 14.6+) to resolve the logic validation issue. Avoid installing untrusted applications to reduce attack surface.

Recommended fix High confidence

iOS 14.6, iPadOS 14.6, macOS Big Sur 11.4, tvOS 14.6, watchOS 7.5

  1. For iPhone and iPad: Go to Settings > General > Software Update and install iOS 14.6 / iPadOS 14.6
  2. For Mac: Go to System Preferences > Software Update and install macOS Big Sur 11.4
  3. For Apple TV: Go to Settings > System > Software Updates and install tvOS 14.6
  4. For Apple Watch: On your iPhone, open the Watch app, go to General > Software Update and install watchOS 7.5
  5. Alternatively, for all devices, ensure automatic updates are enabled or manually download and install the latest firmware from Apple's support site
Caveat Ensure backup of important data before updating; some older apps may be incompatible with newer OS versions

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
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Scan for this in your stack

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dbcve dependency scanner

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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-2021-30740 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