dbcve.org
IpadosOperating system · Apple

CVE-2021-30886

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-08-24
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 8.1 / 12.0.1 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 use after free issue was addressed with improved memory management. This issue is fixed in macOS Monterey 12.0.1, iOS 15.1 and iPadOS 15.1, watchOS 8.1, tvOS 15.1. An 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 · high confidence

A use-after-free vulnerability in the kernel allows a malicious application to execute arbitrary code with kernel-level privileges, enabling potential privilege escalation and complete system compromise on affected Apple devices.

MitigationApply vendor-supplied security updates (macOS Monterey 12.0.1, iOS/iPadOS 15.1, watchOS 8.1, tvOS 15.1 or later) to all affected devices to remediate the vulnerability.

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:< 15.1
Iphone OsOperating system
Affected:< 15.1
macOSOperating system
Affected:< 12.0.1
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. Identify the device operating system
    Determine whether the device runs macOS, iOS, iPadOS, tvOS, or watchOS. On macOS, run 'sw_vers' in Terminal. On iOS/iPadOS, go to Settings > General > About. On tvOS/watchOS, go to Settings > General > About.
    Affected if The device is any Apple product running one of the affected operating systems.
  2. Check the installed macOS version
    Run 'sw_vers -productVersion' in Terminal on macOS. Compare the result to 12.0.1.
    Affected if The version is lower than 12.0.1 (for example, 11.x, 10.x).
  3. Check the installed iOS or iPadOS version
    On iOS/iPadOS, go to Settings > General > About and note the version number. Compare it to 15.1.
    Affected if The version is lower than 15.1 (for example, 14.x, 13.x).
  4. Check the installed watchOS or tvOS version
    On watchOS, go to Settings > General > About and note the version. On tvOS, go to Settings > General > About > Version. Compare to 15.1 for tvOS and 8.1 for watchOS.
    Affected if The watchOS version is lower than 8.1, or the tvOS version is lower than 15.1.

The device is affected if the operating system version is below the fixed release (iOS/iPadOS/tvOS/watchOS below 15.1, watchOS below 8.1, macOS below 12.0.1), as the use-after-free vulnerability exists in the kernel of all unpatched versions within these ranges.

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 / 12.0.1 / 15.1 or later
Fixed in 8.112.0.115.1
Interim mitigation

Apply vendor-supplied security updates (macOS Monterey 12.0.1, iOS/iPadOS 15.1, watchOS 8.1, tvOS 15.1 or later) to all affected devices to remediate the vulnerability.

Recommended fix High confidence

macOS Monterey 12.0.1+, iOS 15.1+, iPadOS 15.1+, watchOS 8.1+, tvOS 15.1+

  1. Identify the Apple device (iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, or Apple TV)
  2. Check the current operating system version in Settings > General > About (iOS/iPadOS/watchOS) or System Preferences > About (macOS)
  3. For iPhone/iPad: Go to Settings > General > Software Update and upgrade to iOS/iPadOS 15.1 or later
  4. For Mac: Go to System Preferences > Software Update and upgrade to macOS Monterey 12.0.1 or later
  5. For Apple Watch: Open the Watch app on iPhone, go to My Watch > General > Software Update and upgrade to watchOS 8.1 or later
  6. For Apple TV: Go to Settings > System > Software Updates and upgrade to tvOS 15.1 or later
  7. Restart the device after the update completes
Caveat Apple OS updates are generally backward-compatible; however, some legacy apps may not function on 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
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,560.

Scan for this in your stack

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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-2021-30886 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