CVE-2021-30850
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 · uneditedAn access issue was addressed with improved access restrictions. This issue is fixed in Security Update 2021-005 Catalina, macOS Big Sur 11.6, tvOS 15. A user may gain access to protected parts of the file system.
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 confidenceThis is an access control bypass vulnerability in macOS Catalina (Security Update 2021-005), macOS Big Sur 11.6, and tvOS 15 that allows a local user to gain unauthorized access to protected portions of the file system due to improper access restriction enforcement.
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>= 10.15, <= 10.15.6= 10.15.7>= 11.0, < 11.6< 15.0CVSS 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check macOS Catalina versionOpen Terminal and run: sw_vers -productVersionAffected if The version shows 10.15, 10.15.6, or 10.15.7 (the system is vulnerable if unpatched)
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Check macOS Big Sur versionOpen Terminal and run: sw_vers -productVersionAffected if The version shows 11.0, 11.1, 11.2, 11.3, 11.4, or 11.5 (the system is vulnerable if unpatched)
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Check tvOS versionOn the Apple TV, go to Settings > General > About > VersionAffected if The version shows any build earlier than 15.0 (the system is vulnerable if unpatched)
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Verify security update statusOn macOS, check System Preferences > Software Update to confirm whether Security Update 2021-005 (Catalina) or the 11.6 update (Big Sur) has been appliedAffected if The relevant security update has not been installed and the version falls within the affected ranges listed above
A system is affected if it runs macOS 10.15.x, macOS 11.0-11.5, or any tvOS version below 15.0, and the corresponding Apple security update has not been applied.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 · scoped11.615.0
Apply the appropriate Apple security update (Security Update 2021-005 for Catalina, macOS Big Sur 11.6, or tvOS 15) to the affected systems.
Security Update 2021-005 Catalina (10.15.7), macOS Big Sur 11.6, or tvOS 15 depending on device
- For macOS Catalina (10.15.x): Apply Security Update 2021-005 by going to System Preferences > Software Update and installing the update, or manually downloading from Apple Support.
- For macOS Big Sur (11.0-11.5): Update to macOS Big Sur 11.6 by going to System Preferences > Software Update and installing the macOS 11.6 update.
- For tvOS devices: Update to tvOS 15 by going to Settings > System > Software Updates and installing the tvOS 15 update.
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-30850 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2021-30850 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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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.
- 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