dbcve.org
IpadosOperating system · Apple

CVE-2021-30834

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-10-28
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 8.0 / 10.15.7 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 state management. This issue is fixed in iOS 14.8 and iPadOS 14.8, tvOS 15, iOS 15 and iPadOS 15, watchOS 8, Security Update 2021-007 Catalina. Processing a malicious audio file may result in unexpected application termination or 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 · moderate confidence

A logic vulnerability in Apple’s audio processing subsystem allows a specially crafted audio file to trigger either application crashes or arbitrary code execution. The root cause was improper state management during audio file parsing, likely leading to memory corruption conditions when processing malformed audio files.

MitigationApply the available security updates (iOS 14.8/15, iPadOS 14.8/15, tvOS 15, watchOS 8, or Security Update 2021-007 for Catalina) to all affected devices. Avoid opening audio files from untrusted sources until patches are applied.

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:< 14.8
Iphone OsOperating system
Affected:< 14.8
Mac Os XOperating system
Affected:< 10.15.7= 10.15.7
macOSOperating system
Affected:>= 11.0, < 11.6
TvosOperating system
Affected:< 15.0
WatchosOperating system
Affected:< 8.0

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 your Apple device type
    Determine whether the device is an iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, or Apple Watch. This is needed because the affected version ranges differ by product.
    Affected if Device is any Apple product (iOS, iPadOS, macOS, tvOS, or watchOS)
  2. Check iOS or iPadOS version
    On iPhone or iPad, go to Settings > General > About and note the version number. Compare it against the affected range: < 14.8 for both iOS and iPadOS.
    Affected if iOS version is below 14.8 or iPadOS version is below 14.8
  3. Check macOS version
    On Mac, click the Apple menu > About This Mac. Note the version (such as 10.15.7, 11.0, 11.5, etc.). Compare against affected ranges: < 10.15.7, exactly 10.15.7, or between 11.0 and 11.6.
    Affected if macOS version is 10.15.7 or earlier, or falls between 11.0 and 11.6 inclusive
  4. Check tvOS version
    On Apple TV, go to Settings > General > About > Version. Compare against the affected range: < 15.0.
    Affected if tvOS version is below 15.0
  5. Check watchOS version
    On Apple Watch, open the Watch app on iPhone, go to General > About, and note the version. Compare against affected range: < 8.0.
    Affected if watchOS version is below 8.0

A device is affected if its operating system version falls within any of the specified vulnerable ranges for iOS (<14.8), iPadOS (<14.8), macOS (10.15.7 or earlier, or 11.0-11.6), tvOS (<15.0), or watchOS (<8.0).

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 8.0 / 10.15.7 / 11.6 or later
Fixed in 8.010.15.711.6
Interim mitigation

Apply the available security updates (iOS 14.8/15, iPadOS 14.8/15, tvOS 15, watchOS 8, or Security Update 2021-007 for Catalina) to all affected devices. Avoid opening audio files from untrusted sources until patches are applied.

Recommended fix High confidence

iOS 14.8+/iPadOS 14.8+, macOS 11.6+, Security Update 2021-007 for Catalina, tvOS 15+, watchOS 8+

  1. Upgrade iOS devices (iPhone/iPad) to iOS 14.8 or later (or iOS 15+)
  2. Upgrade iPadOS devices to iPadOS 14.8 or later (or iPadOS 15+)
  3. For macOS Catalina (10.15.x), install Security Update 2021-007 Catalina
  4. For macOS Big Sur (11.x), upgrade to macOS 11.6 or later
  5. Upgrade tvOS devices to tvOS 15.0 or later
  6. Upgrade Apple Watch devices to watchOS 8.0 or later
  7. After upgrading, verify the system is running the fixed version in Settings > General > About
Caveat Standard upgrade considerations apply - ensure app compatibility with newer OS versions before updating production devices

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

Fix this in Ipados Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,200
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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-2021-30834 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