CVE-2021-31005
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 · uneditedDescription: A logic issue was addressed with improved state management. This issue is fixed in iOS 15 and iPadOS 15, macOS Monterey 12.0.1. Turning off "Block all remote content" may not apply to all remote content types.
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 confidenceA logic error in Apple's Mail app on iOS 15, iPadOS 15, and macOS Monterey 12.0.1 causes the 'Block all remote content' setting to not properly apply to all remote content types. When users disable this setting, remote content may still load in emails despite the user expectation that it would be blocked.
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< 15.0< 15.0= 12.0.0CVSS 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
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check the iOS/iPadOS versionGo to Settings > General > About on iPhone/iPad and note the version numberAffected if The version is below 15.0 (iOS or iPadOS)
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Check the macOS versionGo to Apple menu > About This Mac and note the version numberAffected if The version is exactly 12.0.0 (macOS Monterey)
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Verify the Mail app 'Block all remote content' settingOpen Mail app, go to Settings > Mail > Privacy Protection (iOS/iPadOS) or Mail > Settings > Privacy (macOS), and confirm whether 'Block all remote content' is toggled onAffected if The toggle is enabled but remote content still loads in messages
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Test remote content blocking behaviorSend yourself an HTML email containing an external image (loaded from a remote server) and observe whether the image loads despite the 'Block all remote content' setting being enabledAffected if Remote images load when the setting is turned on, indicating the logic error is present
You are affected if your device runs iOS/iPadOS below 15.0 or macOS 12.0.0 AND the 'Block all remote content' setting fails to prevent remote content from loading in emails.
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 · scoped15.0
Update affected devices to iOS 15+, iPadOS 15+, or macOS Monterey 12.0.1+ to receive the fix. Verify that the 'Block all remote content' setting functions correctly after updating.
iOS 15 / iPadOS 15 (or later) for iPhone and iPad; macOS Monterey 12.0.1 (or later) for Mac
- 1. Back up your device data before performing any OS upgrade
- 2. For iPhone/iPad: Navigate to Settings > General > Software Update and install iOS 15 or iPadOS 15 or later
- 3. For Mac: Navigate to System Preferences > Software Update and install macOS Monterey 12.0.1 or later
- 4. After upgrading, verify the fix by confirming that the 'Block all remote content' setting in Mail preferences works correctly for all content types
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-31005 — 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-2021-31005 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