CVE-2021-30996
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 race condition was addressed with improved state handling. This issue is fixed in macOS Monterey 12.1, iOS 15.2 and iPadOS 15.2. A malicious application may be able to execute arbitrary code with kernel privileges.
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 race condition in kernel state handling allows a malicious application to escalate privileges to kernel level and execute arbitrary code with the highest system privileges.
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< 15.2< 15.2< 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
- High
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify operating system type and versionOn iOS/iPadOS: Go to Settings > General > About > Version. On macOS: Click Apple menu > About This Mac > Version number.Affected if Running any version of iOS, iPadOS, or macOS below the fixed releases
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Verify iOS or iPadOS version against affected rangeCheck if the iOS/iPadOS version number is less than 15.2. Compare your version number to this threshold.Affected if iOS or iPadOS version is below 15.2
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Verify macOS version against affected rangeCheck if the macOS version number is less than 12.1. Compare your version number to this threshold.Affected if macOS version is below 12.1
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Confirm kernel-level access exposureThis is a kernel-level race condition. The vulnerability is present in the kernel of affected versions regardless of configuration. No specific kernel module or setting enables or disables it.Affected if Running an affected version means the kernel contains the race condition flaw
You are affected if your device runs iOS, iPadOS, or macOS versions below 15.2, 15.2, and 12.1 respectively, as these contain the vulnerable kernel state handling code.
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 · scoped12.115.2
Apply vendor security updates: macOS Monterey 12.1+, iOS 15.2+, iPadOS 15.2+ or later supported versions to address the race condition in kernel state management.
iOS 15.2 / iPadOS 15.2 / macOS Monterey 12.1
- For iOS devices: Navigate to Settings > General > Software Update and upgrade to iOS 15.2 or later
- For iPadOS devices: Navigate to Settings > General > Software Update and upgrade to iPadOS 15.2 or later
- For macOS devices: Open System Preferences > Software Update and upgrade to macOS Monterey 12.1 or later
- Alternatively, manually download and install iOS 15.2, iPadOS 15.2, or macOS 12.1 from Apple's official website
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing2.0 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 $1,664.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-30996 — 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-2021-30996 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