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Ipad OsOperating system · Apple

CVE-2021-30903

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-08-24
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 8.1 / 10.15.7 or later.
See remediation →
80/100
Remediation priority · High
Zero-click

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
This issue was addressed with improved checks. This issue is fixed in iOS 14.8.1 and iPadOS 14.8.1, iOS 15.1 and iPadOS 15.1, macOS Monterey 12.0.1. A local attacker may be able to cause 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 local vulnerability in Apple iOS, iPadOS, and macOS Monterey allows a local attacker to cause unexpected application termination or execute arbitrary code, likely through improper input validation or bounds checking. This was addressed with improved checks in the patched versions.

MitigationUpdate affected devices to iOS 15.1+/iPadOS 15.1+ or macOS Monterey 12.0.1+ to remediate this 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
Ipad OsOperating system
Affected:< 14.8.1
IpadosOperating system
Affected:= 15.0
Iphone OsOperating system
Affected:< 14.8.1= 15.0
Mac Os XOperating system
Affected:>= 10.15, < 10.15.7= 10.15.7
macOSOperating system
Affected:<= 12.0.0
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
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/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 Watch, or Apple TV. On iOS/iPadOS, go to Settings > General > About > Model Name. On macOS, go to Apple menu > About This Mac. On Apple Watch, go to Settings > General > About. On Apple TV, go to Settings > General > About.
    Affected if The device is any of the following: iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Apple TV, or Mac running macOS Monterey or earlier.
  2. Check iOS or iPadOS version
    On iPhone or iPad, go to Settings > General > Software Update to see the current iOS/iPadOS version, or Settings > General > About > iOS Version.
    Affected if The installed version is iOS < 14.8.1, iOS = 15.0, iPadOS < 14.8.1, or iPadOS = 15.0.
  3. Check macOS version
    On Mac, go to Apple menu > About This Mac. The version number appears below the macOS name. Also check the Build Number by clicking the version number.
    Affected if The installed version is macOS 10.15.x through 10.15.7 (any build), or macOS Monterey 12.0.0 or earlier.
  4. Check tvOS or watchOS version
    On Apple TV, go to Settings > General > About > Version. On Apple Watch, open the Watch app on iPhone, go to My Watch > General > About, or on the Watch go to Settings > General > About.
    Affected if The installed version is tvOS < 15.1 or watchOS < 8.1.

The device is affected if it is running any iOS/iPadOS version before 14.8.1 or exactly 15.0, macOS 10.15.x through 10.15.7 or any version up to 12.0.0, tvOS before 15.1, or watchOS before 8.1.

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 / 10.15.7 / 14.8.1 or later
Fixed in 8.110.15.714.8.1
Interim mitigation

Update affected devices to iOS 15.1+/iPadOS 15.1+ or macOS Monterey 12.0.1+ to remediate this vulnerability.

Recommended fix High confidence

iOS 14.8.1/iOS 15.1 and iPadOS 14.8.1/iPadOS 15.1 for iPhone/iPad; macOS 12.0.1 for Mac; tvOS 15.1 for Apple TV; watchOS 8.1 for Apple Watch

  1. 1. Identify the current device and operating system version (iOS, iPadOS, macOS, tvOS, or watchOS)
  2. 2. For iOS/iPadOS: Go to Settings > General > Software Update to check for available updates
  3. 3. For macOS: Go to System Preferences > Software Update or System Settings > General > Software Update
  4. 4. For tvOS: Go to Settings > System > Software Updates
  5. 5. For watchOS: Open the Watch app on iPhone and go to General > Software Update
  6. 6. Download and install the appropriate fixed version: iOS 14.8.1 or iOS 15.1 (and corresponding iPadOS), macOS 12.0.1 or later, tvOS 15.1 or later, watchOS 8.1 or later
  7. 7. Ensure the device is connected to power and Wi-Fi before installing the update
Caveat Point releases typically have minimal breaking changes; however, ensure apps and accessories are compatible with the target OS version before upgrading

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

Fix this in Ipad Os Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,780
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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-2021-30903 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