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Mac Os XOperating system · Apple

CVE-2021-30972

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-08-24
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 10.15.7 / 11.6.3 or later.
See remediation →
57/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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
This issue was addressed with improved checks. This issue is fixed in Security Update 2022-001 Catalina, macOS Big Sur 11.6.3. A malicious application may be able to bypass certain Privacy preferences.

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 vulnerability in macOS allowed a malicious application to bypass certain Privacy preferences, potentially enabling unauthorized access to protected user data or system settings. The issue stemmed from insufficient validation checks in the privacy protection mechanism. This was addressed with improved authorization checks in Security Update 2022-001 for Catalina and macOS Big Sur 11.6.3.

MitigationApply the relevant Apple security update (Security Update 2022-001 for macOS Catalina or macOS Big Sur 11.6.3) to affected systems 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, < 10.15.7= 10.15.7
macOSOperating system
Affected:>= 11.0, < 11.6.3= 12.0.0= 12.0.1

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
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
High
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/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 installed macOS version
    Run `sw_vers -productVersion` in Terminal or go to Apple menu > About This Mac
    Affected if The version displayed is 10.15.7 or earlier, 11.0 through 11.6.2, or exactly 12.0.0/12.0.1
  2. Confirm patch status on macOS 10.15 (Catalina)
    Check if Security Update 2022-001 for Catalina is installed via System Preferences > Software Update, or run `defaults read /Library/Preferences/com.apple.SoftwareUpdate.plist LastSuccessfulDate` to see the last update timestamp
    Affected if The system shows no recent security updates or the LastSuccessfulDate is before January 2022
  3. Confirm patch status on macOS 11.x (Big Sur)
    Check if macOS 11.6.3 is installed via System Preferences > Software Update, or verify the exact version with `sw_vers -productVersion`
    Affected if The installed version is 11.6.2 or earlier (11.0 through 11.6.2 are all affected)
  4. Confirm patch status on macOS 12.x (Monterey)
    Check the exact version with `sw_vers -productVersion`
    Affected if The version is exactly 12.0.0 or 12.0.1 (later versions include the fix)

You are affected if your macOS version falls within the unpatched ranges: 10.15.7 or earlier, 11.0-11.6.2, or 12.0.0/12.0.1. Install the relevant Apple security update to confirm you are no longer vulnerable.

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 10.15.7 / 11.6.3 or later
Fixed in 10.15.711.6.3
Interim mitigation

Apply the relevant Apple security update (Security Update 2022-001 for macOS Catalina or macOS Big Sur 11.6.3) to affected systems to remediate this vulnerability.

Recommended fix High confidence

Security Update 2022-001 Catalina (for 10.15.x) or macOS Big Sur 11.6.3 (for 11.x) or latest available macOS (for 12.x)

  1. For macOS 10.15.x (Catalina): Apply Security Update 2022-001 Catalina via System Preferences > Software Update
  2. For macOS 11.x (Big Sur): Upgrade to macOS Big Sur 11.6.3 via System Preferences > Software Update
  3. For macOS 12.x (Monterey): Apply all available security updates or upgrade to the latest macOS version to ensure the fix is included
Caveat Standard macOS update risks apply (ensure backups before updating)

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
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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-2021-30972 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