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Actively exploited in the wild. This CVE is on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities list — treat remediation as urgent. Federal remediation due by 13 Jun 2022.
IpadosOperating system · Apple

CVE-2021-30883

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-08-24
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 8.1 / 11.6.1 or later.
See remediation →
97/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
In the wild 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 memory handling. This issue is fixed in iOS 15.0.2 and iPadOS 15.0.2, macOS Monterey 12.0.1, iOS 14.8.1 and iPadOS 14.8.1, tvOS 15.1, watchOS 8.1, macOS Big Sur 11.6.1. An application may be able to execute arbitrary code with kernel privileges. Apple is aware of a report that this issue may have been actively exploited..

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 kernel allows a malicious local application to execute arbitrary code with kernel-level privileges. Fixed in iOS 15.0.2 and 14.8.1, iPadOS 15.0.2 and 14.8.1, macOS Monterey 12.0.1 and Big Sur 11.6.1, tvOS 15.1, and watchOS 8.1.

MitigationApply the available Apple security updates for the affected OS versions. This is a kernel-level privilege escalation; ensure all affected devices (iOS, iPadOS, macOS, tvOS, watchOS) are updated to the fixed versions.

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:< 14.8.1>= 15.0, < 15.0.2
Iphone OsOperating system
Affected:< 14.8.1>= 15.0, < 15.0.2
macOSOperating system
Affected:>= 11.0, < 11.6.1= 12.0
TvosOperating system
Affected:< 15.1
WatchosOperating system
Affected:< 8.1

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 iOS or iPadOS version
    Go to Settings > General > About and note the version number, or run 'sw_vers' in terminal on a paired device
    Affected if Version is below 14.8.1, or is 15.0.0 through 15.0.1 (any 15.0.x before 15.0.2)
  2. Check macOS version
    Go to Apple menu > About This Mac > Version, or run 'sw_vers' in Terminal
    Affected if Version is 11.0 through 11.6.0 (any 11.x before 11.6.1), or is exactly 12.0 (Monterey initial release)
  3. Check tvOS version
    Go to Settings > General > About > Version, or check via Xcode or Finder when connected
    Affected if Version is below 15.1 (any 15.0.x or earlier)
  4. Check watchOS version
    Go to Settings > General > About on the Watch app on iPhone, or on the watch go to Settings > General > About
    Affected if Version is below 8.1

If the device runs any affected iOS, iPadOS, macOS, tvOS, or watchOS version listed above, the kernel memory corruption vulnerability is present and could allow a malicious app to gain root privileges.

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 8.1 / 11.6.1 / 14.8.1 or later
Fixed in 8.111.6.114.8.1
Interim mitigation

Apply the available Apple security updates for the affected OS versions. This is a kernel-level privilege escalation; ensure all affected devices (iOS, iPadOS, macOS, tvOS, watchOS) are updated to the fixed versions.

Recommended fix High confidence

iOS 15.0.2/iPadOS 15.0.2 (or iOS 14.8.1/iPadOS 14.8.1), macOS Monterey 12.0.1 (or macOS Big Sur 11.6.1), tvOS 15.1, watchOS 8.1

  1. 1. Identify the Apple device type (iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, or Apple Watch)
  2. 2. Check the current OS version on the device in Settings > General > About (iOS/iPadOS) or System Preferences > About (macOS)
  3. 3. For iPhone/iPad: Go to Settings > General > Software Update and install the appropriate update (iOS 15.0.2 or iPadOS 15.0.2, or iOS 14.8.1/iPadOS 14.8.1 if staying on iOS 14)
  4. 4. For Mac: Open System Preferences > Software Update or go to the Apple menu > System Preferences > Software Update and install macOS Monterey 12.0.1 (or macOS Big Sur 11.6.1 if not upgrading to Monterey)
  5. 5. For Apple TV: Go to Settings > System > Software Updates and install tvOS 15.1
  6. 6. For Apple Watch: On the iPhone, open the Watch app, go to My Watch > General > Software Update and install watchOS 8.1
  7. 7. After updating, verify the new OS version matches the fixed release
Caveat Standard OS update risks apply (potential app compatibility issues with legacy 32-bit apps on newer macOS, minor UI changes in iOS 15/macOS Monterey)

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

Fix this in Ipados Exploited in the wild — priority engagement
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
4.0 hours of engineering $750
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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-2021-30883 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