dbcve.org
IpadosOperating system · Apple

CVE-2021-30955

HIGH · 7.0 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-08-24
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 8.3 / 12.1 or later.
See remediation →
73/100
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
A race condition was addressed with improved state handling. This issue is fixed in macOS Monterey 12.1, watchOS 8.3, iOS 15.2 and iPadOS 15.2, tvOS 15.2. A malicious 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 race condition in the kernel allows a malicious application to execute arbitrary code with kernel privileges. The vulnerability was addressed with improved state handling in the affected Apple operating systems.

MitigationUpdate affected devices to iOS 15.2/iPadOS 15.2, macOS Monterey 12.1, watchOS 8.3, or tvOS 15.2 or later to patch the kernel race condition.

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
macOSOperating system
Affected:< 12.1
TvosOperating system
Affected:< 15.2
WatchosOperating system
Affected:< 8.3

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
High
Privileges
None
User interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/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 your Apple operating system
    Determine which Apple OS runs on your device: iOS (iPhone), iPadOS (iPad), macOS (Mac computer), tvOS (Apple TV), or watchOS (Apple Watch)
    Affected if The device runs any of the listed operating systems
  2. Check iOS or iPadOS version
    On iPhone or iPad, go to Settings > General > About and note the Version number (e.g., 15.1.1)
    Affected if Version is below 15.2 (e.g., 15.1, 15.0, 14.x)
  3. Check macOS version
    On Mac, click the Apple menu > About This Mac and note the version number (e.g., 12.0.1)
    Affected if Version is below 12.1 (e.g., 12.0, 11.x)
  4. Check watchOS version
    On Apple Watch, go to Settings > General > About > Software Version, or open the Watch app on your iPhone and navigate to My Watch > General > About
    Affected if Version is below 8.3 (e.g., 8.2, 8.1, 7.x)
  5. Check tvOS version
    On Apple TV, go to Settings > General > About > Version
    Affected if Version is below 15.2 (e.g., 15.1, 15.0, 14.x)

You are affected if your device runs any of these OS types with a version lower than the threshold: iOS < 15.2, iPadOS < 15.2, macOS < 12.1, tvOS < 15.2, or watchOS < 8.3.

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 8.3 / 12.1 / 15.2 or later
Fixed in 8.312.115.2
Interim mitigation

Update affected devices to iOS 15.2/iPadOS 15.2, macOS Monterey 12.1, watchOS 8.3, or tvOS 15.2 or later to patch the kernel race condition.

Recommended fix High confidence

iOS 15.2, iPadOS 15.2, macOS Monterey 12.1, tvOS 15.2, watchOS 8.3

  1. Check the current OS version on the device (Settings > General > About on iOS/iPadOS, System Preferences > About on macOS, Settings > General > About on tvOS, Settings > General on watchOS)
  2. For iPhone or iPad: Update to iOS 15.2 or iPadOS 15.2 by going to Settings > General > Software Update
  3. For Mac: Update to macOS Monterey 12.1 by going to System Preferences > Software Update
  4. For Apple TV: Update to tvOS 15.2 by going to Settings > System > Software Updates
  5. For Apple Watch: Update to watchOS 8.3 by going to Settings > General > Software Update on the watch or via the Watch app on iPhone
  6. After updating, verify the device is running the fixed version to confirm the vulnerability is patched
Caveat Standard OS update risks apply - ensure backups exist before updating, as with any major OS upgrade

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
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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-2021-30955 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