dbcve.org
IpadosOperating system · Apple

CVE-2021-30971

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-08-24
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 11.6.2 / 12.1 or later.
See remediation →
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 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 lead to unexpected application termination or 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

A memory corruption vulnerability exists in Apple's USD (Universal Scene Description) file parser. The vulnerability is an out-of-bounds write issue caused by insufficient bounds checking when processing USD files. A specially crafted malicious USD file can trigger the vulnerability during parsing, leading to application termination or arbitrary code execution with the privileges of the vulnerable application.

MitigationApply the vendor-supplied security updates: macOS Monterey 12.1 or later, iOS/iPadOS 15.2 or later, macOS Big Sur 11.6.2, or Security Update 2021-008 for Catalina. Alternatively, 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, <= 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
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
    Run 'sw_vers' in Terminal or System Preferences > About to find the exact macOS version number
    Affected if Version is 10.15.x, 11.0-11.6.1, or 12.0-12.0 (before 12.1)
  2. Check iOS/iPadOS version
    Go to Settings > General > About on iPhone or iPad to view the version
    Affected if Version is before 15.2 (e.g., 15.0, 15.1, or earlier)
  3. Identify USD-handling applications
    Search for applications that open .usd, .usda, .usdc, or .usdz files: use 'mdfind kMDItemContentTypeTree == "com.pixar.universal-scene-description"' or check commonly used apps like Preview, QuickLook, or 3D modeling tools
    Affected if Any application that parses USD files is present on the system
  4. Check for applied security updates
    Run 'system_profiler SPSoftwareDataType' and look for Security Updates in the output, or check for specific update 2021-008 for macOS Catalina
    Affected if No security updates dated after December 2021 are installed on vulnerable macOS versions

A user is affected if their device runs macOS 10.15.x, 11.0-11.6.1, or 12.0, or iOS/iPadOS before 15.2, and they open or preview untrusted USD/USDZ files using built-in Apple applications.

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 the vendor-supplied security updates: macOS Monterey 12.1 or later, iOS/iPadOS 15.2 or later, macOS Big Sur 11.6.2, or Security Update 2021-008 for Catalina. Alternatively, avoid opening untrusted USD files from unknown sources.

Recommended fix High confidence

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

  1. Identify the device type: iPhone, iPad, or Mac
  2. For iPhone/iPad: Go to Settings > General > Software Update and install iOS 15.2/iPadOS 15.2 or later
  3. For Mac: Open System Preferences > Software Update and install the latest security update (macOS Monterey 12.1, Big Sur 11.6.2, or Security Update 2021-008 for Catalina)
  4. Restart the device after applying the update
  5. Verify the update was successfully installed by checking Settings > General > About (iOS/iPadOS) or System Preferences > Software Update (macOS)
Caveat Standard Apple OS update risks apply - ensure backups exist before updating; 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-2021-30971 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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