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Iphone OsOperating system · Apple

CVE-2021-30775

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-09-08
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 7.6 / 11.5 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 memory corruption issue was addressed with improved state management. This issue is fixed in iOS 14.7, macOS Big Sur 11.5, watchOS 7.6, tvOS 14.7, Security Update 2021-004 Catalina. Processing a maliciously crafted audio file may lead to arbitrary code execution.

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

Memory corruption vulnerability in Apple's audio file parsing code across iOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS. Processing a maliciously crafted audio file triggers improper state management in memory handling, leading to arbitrary code execution with the privileges of the audio processing component.

MitigationApply the relevant security update (iOS 14.7, macOS Big Sur 11.5, watchOS 7.6, tvOS 14.7, or Security Update 2021-004 Catalina) to all affected devices. Avoid processing untrusted audio files until systems are patched.

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
Iphone OsOperating system
Affected:< 14.7
Mac Os XOperating system
Affected:>= 10.15, <= 10.15.6= 10.15.7
macOSOperating system
Affected:< 11.5
TvosOperating system
Affected:< 14.7
WatchosOperating system
Affected:< 7.6

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. Check the installed iOS version
    Go to Settings > General > About on iPhone/iPad, or run 'sw_vers' on macOS, or check Settings > General > About on Apple Watch, or check Settings > General > About on Apple TV
    Affected if The version is below 14.7 for iOS/tvOS, below 11.5 for macOS Big Sur, or between 10.15.0 and 10.15.6 or exactly 10.15.7 for macOS Catalina, or below 7.6 for watchOS
  2. Verify if Core Audio service is active
    On macOS, run 'launchctl list | grep -i audio' or check Activity Monitor for 'coreaudiod' process. On iOS, this service runs by default but cannot be disabled by users.
    Affected if The Core Audio daemon (coreaudiod) is running, which is the default state on unpatched systems
  3. Confirm audio file import/processing is accessible
    Try opening a sample audio file in QuickTime Player, Music app, or GarageBand on macOS, or attempt to import an audio file in Photos or Voice Memos on iOS
    Affected if The audio processing components are accessible and can parse audio files, which is the default behavior on unpatched devices

The device is affected if it runs any of the unpatched OS versions listed AND has audio file processing capabilities enabled, which is the default state on most Apple devices.

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 7.6 / 11.5 / 14.7 or later
Fixed in 7.611.514.7
Interim mitigation

Apply the relevant security update (iOS 14.7, macOS Big Sur 11.5, watchOS 7.6, tvOS 14.7, or Security Update 2021-004 Catalina) to all affected devices. Avoid processing untrusted audio files until systems are patched.

Recommended fix High confidence

iOS 14.7, macOS Big Sur 11.5, watchOS 7.6, tvOS 14.7, or Security Update 2021-004 for Catalina

  1. Identify the affected Apple device (iPhone, Mac, Apple Watch, Apple TV)
  2. Check current OS version in Settings > General > About (iOS/tvOS/watchOS) or System Preferences > Software Update (macOS)
  3. For iPhone/iPad: Update to iOS 14.7 or later via Settings > General > Software Update
  4. For Mac: Update to macOS Big Sur 11.5 or later via System Preferences > Software Update; for Catalina (10.15.7), install Security Update 2021-004 Catalina
  5. For Apple Watch: Update to watchOS 7.6 or later via the Watch app on iPhone > General > Software Update
  6. For Apple TV: Update to tvOS 14.7 or later via Settings > System > Software Updates
  7. After update, verify the version matches or exceeds the fixed release
Caveat Standard OS update considerations apply - backup data before updating, some legacy apps may be incompatible with newer OS versions

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

Fix this in Iphone Os 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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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-2021-30775 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