CVE-2021-30986
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 · uneditedA device configuration issue was addressed with an updated configuration. This issue is fixed in macOS Monterey 12.1. A device may be passively tracked by its Bluetooth MAC address.
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 confidenceA device configuration issue in macOS Monterey allowed passive tracking via the device's Bluetooth MAC address, likely due to predictable or static MAC address exposure rather than proper address randomization.
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>= 12.0, < 12.1CVSS 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
- High
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check macOS versionRun 'sw_vers -productVersion' in Terminal or open System Settings > General > AboutAffected if Version shows 12.0.x (any 12.0 release, such as 12.0, 12.0.1) - these are in the vulnerable range >= 12.0 and < 12.1
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Verify Bluetooth is enabledCheck System Settings > Bluetooth or run 'system_profiler SPBluetoothDataType' in TerminalAffected if Bluetooth is turned ON - the vulnerability allows tracking of devices with Bluetooth active
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Inspect Bluetooth MAC address stabilityCheck system logs or use 'defaults read /Library/Preferences/com.apple.Bluetooth.plist' to examine Bluetooth configuration, or observe if the Bluetooth MAC address remains constant across restartsAffected if MAC address appears static or unchanged after Bluetooth toggle/restart rather than randomized (address randomization was not implemented in 12.0)
A user is affected if macOS Monterey is version 12.0.x and Bluetooth is enabled, as the static MAC address in that version allowed passive tracking.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 · scoped12.1
Update affected devices to macOS Monterey 12.1 or later, which includes corrected Bluetooth configuration to prevent MAC address tracking.
macOS Monterey 12.1
- Back up your Mac using Time Machine or another backup method before performing any system update
- Verify your current macOS version by clicking the Apple menu > About This Mac
- Upgrade to macOS Monterey 12.1 by going to System Preferences > Software Update, or download macOS 12.1 from the Mac App Store
- Restart your Mac when prompted to complete the installation
- After upgrading, verify the update was successful by checking System Preferences > Software Update again
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,424.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-30986 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2021-30986 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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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.
- 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