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Mac Os XOperating system · Apple

CVE-2021-30935

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-08-24
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 11.6.2 / 12.1 or later.
See remediation →
93/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
No privileges 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
A logic issue was addressed with improved validation. This issue is fixed in Security Update 2021-008 Catalina, macOS Big Sur 11.6.2. 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 · moderate confidence

CVE-2021-30935 is a logic validation vulnerability in macOS that allows a locally-authenticated attacker to escalate privileges from application-level execution to arbitrary code execution with kernel privileges. This represents a complete privilege escalation path enabling full system compromise.

MitigationApply Apple Security Update 2021-008 for macOS Catalina or update to macOS Big Sur 11.6.2 or later 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
Mac Os XOperating system
Affected:<= 10.15.7= 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
Adjacent
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/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. Check the installed macOS version
    Run the command: sw_vers -productVersion
    Affected if The version returned is 10.15.7 or lower, 11.0 through 11.6.1, or 12.0 through 12.0.x
  2. Verify the exact macOS release name
    Run: sw_vers -productName and sw_vers -buildVersion
    Affected if Running macOS Catalina (10.15.x), Big Sur (11.x), or Monterey (12.0.x) with versions matching the affected ranges above
  3. Confirm local user access exists
    This vulnerability requires an attacker to have local authenticated access to the system. Verify any standard user accounts exist on the machine.
    Affected if Any local user account exists on a system running an affected macOS version

A system is affected if it runs macOS version 10.15.7 or lower, 11.0-11.6.1, or 12.0-12.0.x and allows local user authentication.

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 or later
Fixed in 11.6.212.1
Interim mitigation

Apply Apple Security Update 2021-008 for macOS Catalina or update to macOS Big Sur 11.6.2 or later to remediate this vulnerability.

Recommended fix High confidence

macOS 10.15.7 with Security Update 2021-008, macOS Big Sur 11.6.2+, or macOS 12.1+

  1. Check current macOS version by clicking Apple menu > About This Mac
  2. For macOS 10.15.7 (Catalina): Install Security Update 2021-008 via System Preferences > Software Update
  3. For macOS 11.0-11.6.1 (Big Sur): Upgrade to macOS Big Sur 11.6.2 or later via System Preferences > Software Update
  4. For macOS 12.0 (Monterey): Upgrade to macOS 12.1 or later via System Preferences > Software Update
  5. Verify the update was successfully installed by checking About This Mac again
Caveat Standard macOS upgrade considerations apply - ensure compatibility with required applications before upgrading

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

Fix this in Mac Os X Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,040
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,664.

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-2021-30935 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