dbcve.org
macOSOperating system · Apple

CVE-2021-30962

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-08-24
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 11.6.2 / 15.2 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
A memory initialization issue was addressed with improved memory handling. This issue is fixed in tvOS 15.2, macOS Big Sur 11.6.2. Parsing a maliciously crafted audio file may lead to disclosure of user information.

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

A memory initialization vulnerability in Apple's audio parsing subsystem (likely Core Audio/AudioToolbox) allows processing of a maliciously crafted audio file to disclose sensitive user information from memory due to improper memory handling during parsing.

MitigationApply the vendor patches: update to tvOS 15.2 or later, and macOS Big Sur 11.6.2 or later. Until patches are applied, avoid opening audio files from untrusted 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
macOSOperating system
Affected:>= 11.6, < 11.6.2
TvosOperating system
Affected:< 15.2

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 on the system
    Run 'sw_vers -productVersion' in Terminal, or go to Apple menu > About This Mac > System Report > Software > System Version
    Affected if The version is 11.6, 11.6.1, or 11.6 (Build versions between 20G95 and 21A559)
  2. Check tvOS version on Apple TV devices
    On the Apple TV, go to Settings > General > About > Version, or check via Apple Configurator or device management tools
    Affected if The version is any release prior to 15.2 (for example 15.0, 15.1, or 15.1.1)
  3. Confirm Core Audio / AudioToolbox component is present
    On macOS, verify '/System/Library/Frameworks/AudioToolbox.framework' exists. On tvOS, the AudioToolbox framework is bundled with the system and cannot be individually inspected.
    Affected if The framework exists (which it does by default on all affected macOS and tvOS installations)
  4. Verify the specific Security Update that patches this vulnerability is installed
    On macOS, open System Preferences > Security & Privacy > General and look for 'Security Update 2021-006' or later. Alternatively, run 'defaults read /Library/Preferences/com.apple.SoftwareUpdate.plist LastSuccessfulDate' to check the last update time.
    Affected if No security update is shown or the last update was applied before the November 2021 security patches

Your system is affected if it runs macOS 11.6 or 11.6.1 without Security Update 2021-006, or runs any tvOS version prior to 15.2, and the AudioToolbox framework (present by default) processes a maliciously crafted audio file.

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 / 15.2 or later
Fixed in 11.6.215.2
Interim mitigation

Apply the vendor patches: update to tvOS 15.2 or later, and macOS Big Sur 11.6.2 or later. Until patches are applied, avoid opening audio files from untrusted sources.

Recommended fix High confidence

macOS Big Sur 11.6.2 or tvOS 15.2

  1. Check current macOS version: Go to Apple menu > About This Mac
  2. Check current tvOS version: Go to Settings > General > About > Version
  3. For macOS: Open System Preferences > Software Update and install the available update to reach version 11.6.2
  4. For tvOS: Go to Settings > General > Software Update and install the available update to reach version 15.2
  5. Alternatively, manually download the macOS Big Sur 11.6.2 update from Apple's support downloads page

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

Fix this in macOS Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
7.0 hours of engineering $1,240
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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-2021-30962 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