Security Resilience

CVE-2021-30657

Access Control in Apple Mac Os X 10.15 – 10.15.5

CISA KEVActive ExploitationEUVD ExploitedAccess Control
Published
08 September 2021
Modified
23 October 2025
KEV Added
03 November 2021
Patch / advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 5.5
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N
EPSS Score 0.69 99.3th percentile
Risk Priority 75 floored blend · peak EPSS

CVSS and EPSS are reproduced from their sources (NVD, FIRST EPSS). Risk Priority is our own derived reading, not an NVD score.

Summary

CVE-2021-30657 is a medium-severity Missing Authorization (CWE-862) vulnerability in Apple Mac Os X. Its CVSS base score is 5.5 (Medium).

Operationally, ranked in the top 0.7% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; CISA has added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog.

Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary

Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.

A logic issue addressed through improved state management affects Gatekeeper on macOS, allowing improper validation of application signatures. The vulnerability impacts macOS Big Sur prior to version 11.3 and macOS Catalina prior to Security Update 2021-002, as documented in the associated Apple security advisories. It is classified under CWE-862 with a CVSS score of 5.5 reflecting local access requirements and integrity impact without confidentiality or availability effects.

An attacker can deliver a malicious application that bypasses Gatekeeper checks when a user attempts to open it, enabling execution of unsigned or improperly signed code. The attack requires user interaction but no elevated privileges, permitting the application to run despite macOS security controls intended to block such software.

Apple has released fixes in macOS Big Sur 11.3 and Security Update 2021-002 Catalina to resolve the issue. The vendor notes awareness of active exploitation in the wild, and the vulnerability is listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, confirming reported real-world use.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

A logic issue was addressed with improved state management. This issue is fixed in macOS Big Sur 11.3, Security Update 2021-002 Catalina. A malicious application may bypass Gatekeeper checks. Apple is aware of a report that this issue may have…

more

been actively exploited..

CWE(s)
KEV Date Added
03 November 2021

Related Threats

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2021-30713Same product: Apple Mac Os Xboth on KEV
CVE-2024-23230Same product: Apple Macos
CVE-2025-43286Same product: Apple Macos
CVE-2025-24181Same product: Apple Macos
CVE-2024-40834Same product: Apple Macos
CVE-2024-44156Same product: Apple Macos
CVE-2025-24108Same product: Apple Macos
CVE-2024-54466Same product: Apple Macos
CVE-2025-43331Same product: Apple Macos
CVE-2025-31194Same product: Apple Macos

Affected Assets

apple
mac os x
10.15.6, 10.15.7 · 10.15 — 10.15.5
apple
macos
11.0 — 11.3

Mitigating Controls

Likely Mitigating Controls AI

Per-CVE control mapping for this CVE has not run yet; the list below is derived from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry.

addresses: CWE-862

Requiring an access control policy ensures authorization checks are defined and applied for critical functions.

addresses: CWE-862

Reviews of access controls detect missing authorization checks on critical functions or resources.

addresses: CWE-862

Documenting permitted unauthenticated actions prevents missing authorization by making all exceptions explicit and subject to organizational review.

addresses: CWE-862

Requiring attribute association with information prevents authorization from being performed without necessary security or privacy context.

addresses: CWE-862

Mandating authorization prior to allowing remote connections addresses missing authorization for remote access.

addresses: CWE-862

Mandating authorization before wireless connections are allowed prevents missing authorization for wireless access.

addresses: CWE-862

The control requires authorization before allowing mobile device connections, directly mitigating missing authorization for system access.

addresses: CWE-862

Requiring approvals for account creation and specifying authorizations ensures authorization is not missing for system access.

Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

blocks

Requiring formal authorization of every access request before rights are granted ensures that checks for required permissions are performed, preventing missing authorization checks from being introduced.

blocks

A.5.18's provisioning, review, revocation and activation steps (incl. owner approval, SoD, timely removal on role/termination change) directly stop exploitation of missing authorization checks by ensuring no actor receives or retains rights to resources they should not access; the bounded remainder is that it cannot stop missing-authorization defects inside the enforcement mechanism itself once rights have been granted (e.g. flawed code that ignores the rights table).

finds

By requiring competent outsiders to verify that every function enforces the need-to-know principle, the control lowers the likelihood that missing authorization checks persist undetected.

blocks

A.5.8 integrates risk assessment, requirements elicitation and governance into the project lifecycle so that authorization needs can be identified and specified; it does not itself perform or enforce authorization checks, so the missing-authorization weakness can still be present and exploitable.

blocks

Security checkpoints and explicit authorization requirements in the design phase ensure that every sensitive function is paired with an access-control check, reducing missing-authorization defects.

blocks

A.8.27 mandates security-by-design principles (least privilege, default deny, security architecture integration, zero-trust never-trust/always-verify, dynamic access control) plus design reviews that directly specify and enforce authorization checks before access; this stops most missing-authorization cases from being exploitable, with a bounded remainder in non-architectural or legacy components where the principles were documented but not fully applied.

Hardening callouts derived

DISA STIG baselines are authored against specific weaknesses. Where this CVE cites a broad weakness class, the mapping is not asserted at that abstraction (owner ruling, 2026-09-25: grade only at Base and below), so no rule is shown here rather than a rule shown against the wrong grain.

  • No fine-grained STIG row for CWE-862, a class-level weakness, and none of its children carries one either.

References