dbcve.org
IpadosOperating system · Apple

CVE-2021-30958

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-08-24
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 8.3 / 10.15.7 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
An out-of-bounds read was addressed with improved input validation. This issue is fixed in macOS Big Sur 11.6.2, tvOS 15.2, macOS Monterey 12.1, Security Update 2021-008 Catalina, iOS 15.2 and iPadOS 15.2, watchOS 8.3. Playing a malicious audio file may lead to 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 · high confidence

This is an out-of-bounds read vulnerability in Apple's audio parsing code (likely in CoreAudio or a related framework). The vulnerability can be triggered by playing a specially crafted malicious audio file, which could allow an attacker to achieve arbitrary code execution due to the memory corruption. The fix was implemented via improved input validation.

MitigationApply the appropriate vendor patches: macOS Big Sur 11.6.2+, macOS Monterey 12.1+, Security Update 2021-008 for Catalina, iOS 15.2+, iPadOS 15.2+, tvOS 15.2+, and watchOS 8.3+. Prioritize systems that process untrusted audio files.

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, < 10.15.7= 10.15.7
macOSOperating system
Affected:>= 11.0, < 11.6.2>= 12.0, < 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
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. Check macOS version on Apple computers
    Run 'sw_vers -productVersion' in Terminal or check System Preferences > About This Mac
    Affected if Version is 10.15.x (any version before 10.15.7), 11.0-11.6.1, or 12.0-12.0
  2. Check iOS version on iPhones
    Go to Settings > General > About > Version on the device
    Affected if Version is less than 15.2
  3. Check iPadOS version on iPads
    Go to Settings > General > About > Version on the device
    Affected if Version is less than 15.2
  4. Check tvOS version on Apple TV devices
    Go to Settings > General > About > Version on the Apple TV
    Affected if Version is less than 15.2
  5. Check watchOS version on Apple Watch
    Open the Watch app on paired iPhone, go to My Watch > General > About
    Affected if Version is less than 8.3

The system is affected if it runs any of the unpatched versions listed and processes or plays audio files from untrusted sources.

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 / 10.15.7 / 11.6.2 or later
Fixed in 8.310.15.711.6.2
Interim mitigation

Apply the appropriate vendor patches: macOS Big Sur 11.6.2+, macOS Monterey 12.1+, Security Update 2021-008 for Catalina, iOS 15.2+, iPadOS 15.2+, tvOS 15.2+, and watchOS 8.3+. Prioritize systems that process untrusted audio files.

Recommended fix High confidence

iOS 15.2, iPadOS 15.2, macOS 11.6.2 (Big Sur), macOS 12.1 (Monterey), Security Update 2021-008 (Catalina), tvOS 15.2, or watchOS 8.3 depending on device

  1. Identify the Apple device and current operating system version (iOS, iPadOS, macOS, tvOS, or watchOS)
  2. For iPhone/iPad: Go to Settings > General > Software Update and upgrade to iOS 15.2 or iPadOS 15.2
  3. For Mac: Go to System Preferences > Software Update and upgrade to macOS Big Sur 11.6.2 or macOS Monterey 12.1, or apply Security Update 2021-008 for macOS Catalina
  4. For Apple TV: Go to Settings > System > Software Updates and upgrade to tvOS 15.2
  5. For Apple Watch: Go to Settings > General > Software Update on the paired iPhone and upgrade to watchOS 8.3
  6. After upgrading, verify the security update is applied by checking the OS version matches the fixed release
Caveat Standard upgrade risks apply: ensure backups exist, check app compatibility, and note that older devices may have limited upgrade paths

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-2021-30958 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