IpadosOperating system · Apple

CVE-2021-30914

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-08-24
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 15.1 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 memory corruption issue was addressed with improved input validation. This issue is fixed in iOS 15.1 and iPadOS 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 memory corruption vulnerability in iOS/iPadOS allowed a malicious application to execute arbitrary code with kernel-level privileges. The issue was addressed through improved input validation, which prevents the memory corruption that could otherwise lead to privilege escalation.

MitigationUpdate affected iOS/iPadOS devices to version 15.1 or later to apply the patched input validation. In enterprise environments, deploy this update via MDM or device management frameworks.

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

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 installed iOS/iPadOS version
    Go to Settings > General > About on the device and locate the version number displayed next to 'Version'
    Affected if The version number is below 15.1 (for example, 15.0.x, 14.x, or earlier)
  2. Confirm the device is an iPhone or iPad
    Go to Settings > General > About and check the model name or model number to verify the device type
    Affected if The device is an iPhone or iPad running iOS or iPadOS (the vulnerability does not affect macOS, watchOS, or tvOS)

The device is affected if it runs any version of iOS or iPadOS earlier than 15.1, as the memory corruption vulnerability is present in the base OS and requires no specific configuration to be exploitable.

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 15.1 or later
Fixed in 15.1
Interim mitigation

Update affected iOS/iPadOS devices to version 15.1 or later to apply the patched input validation. In enterprise environments, deploy this update via MDM or device management frameworks.

Recommended fix High confidence

iOS 15.1 / iPadOS 15.1

  1. Back up your iPhone or iPad using iCloud or your computer
  2. Ensure your device is connected to Wi-Fi and plugged into power
  3. Go to Settings > General > Software Update on your device
  4. Download and install iOS 15.1 (for iPhone) or iPadOS 15.1 (for iPad)
  5. Restart your device if prompted to complete the installation
Caveat Standard iOS upgrade considerations apply - review app compatibility and ensure sufficient battery/storage before updating

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

Fix this in Ipados Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation6.0 h
  • Implementation12.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
30.0 hours of engineering $5,280
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $8,448.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-30914 — 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 sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2021-30914 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