dbcve.org
IpadosOperating system · Apple

CVE-2021-30929

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-08-24
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 11.6.2 / 12.1 or later.
See remediation →
58/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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
An out-of-bounds write issue was addressed with improved bounds checking. This issue is fixed in macOS Monterey 12.1, iOS 15.2 and iPadOS 15.2, macOS Big Sur 11.6.2, Security Update 2021-008 Catalina. Processing a maliciously crafted USD file may disclose memory contents.

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

An out-of-bounds write vulnerability in Apple's Universal Scene Description (USD) file parsing code allows a maliciously crafted USD file to disclose memory contents. The vulnerability exists in the USD processing component across macOS and iOS/iPadOS. This is a file parse vulnerability requiring user interaction to open a specially crafted file.

MitigationApply Apple security updates: macOS Monterey 12.1, iOS 15.2/iPadOS 15.2, macOS Big Sur 11.6.2, or Security Update 2021-008 for Catalina. Avoid opening untrusted USD files from unknown sources.

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:< 15.2
Iphone OsOperating system
Affected:< 15.2
Mac Os XOperating system
Affected:= 10.15.7
macOSOperating system
Affected:>= 11.0, < 11.6.2>= 12.0, < 12.1

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
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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Check macOS version
    Run 'sw_vers -productVersion' in Terminal to get the exact macOS version number
    Affected if Version is 10.15.7, or between 11.0 and 11.6.1 (inclusive), or between 12.0 and 12.0 (inclusive)
  2. Check iOS/iPadOS version
    On iPhone or iPad, go to Settings > General > About > Software Version
    Affected if Version is below 15.2 (e.g., 15.1, 15.0, 14.x, etc.)
  3. Identify USD file handler
    Check if the system associates .usd, .usda, .usdc, or .usdz files with an application by running 'mdls -name com.apple.LaunchServices.openwith' on a sample USD file, or inspect /System/Library/CoreServices/CoreTypes.bundle/Contents/Info.plist for USD-type declarations
    Affected if USD file types are registered on the system (standard on macOS/iOS)
  4. Check for recent USD file activity
    Run 'defaults read com.apple.finder RecentFileList' or inspect the system's recent documents via the log stream: 'log show --predicate 'eventMessage contains "usd"' --last 24h' to see if any USD files were opened
    Affected if USD files have been opened on the system

The system is affected if it runs macOS 10.15.7, macOS Big Sur 11.0-11.6.1, macOS Monterey 12.0, or iOS/iPadOS versions below 15.2, and the user has opened or can open USD files.

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 11.6.2 / 12.1 / 15.2 or later
Fixed in 11.6.212.115.2
Interim mitigation

Apply Apple security updates: macOS Monterey 12.1, iOS 15.2/iPadOS 15.2, macOS Big Sur 11.6.2, or Security Update 2021-008 for Catalina. Avoid opening untrusted USD files from unknown sources.

Recommended fix High confidence

iOS 15.2 and later, iPadOS 15.2 and later, macOS Monterey 12.1 and later, macOS Big Sur 11.6.2 and later, Security Update 2021-008 for Catalina

  1. Check current macOS/iOS version by going to System Preferences > Software Update (macOS) or Settings > General > Software Update (iOS/iPadOS)
  2. Back up important data before performing the update
  3. For macOS: Install macOS Monterey 12.1, macOS Big Sur 11.6.2, or Security Update 2021-008 for Catalina via System Preferences > Software Update
  4. For iOS/iPadOS: Install iOS 15.2 or iPadOS 15.2 via Settings > General > Software Update
  5. After updating, verify the version installed matches or exceeds the fixed release
Caveat Standard macOS/iOS upgrade considerations apply - some older applications may be incompatible with 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
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,060
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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-2021-30929 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