CVE-2021-30869
Published: 24 August 2021
Summary
CVE-2021-30869 is a high-severity Type Confusion (CWE-843) vulnerability in Apple Mac Os X. Its CVSS base score is 7.8 (High).
Operationally, ranked in the top 17.2% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; CISA has added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog.
The strongest mitigations our analysis identified are NIST 800-53 SI-2 (Flaw Remediation) and SC-39 (Process Isolation).
Deeper analysis
A type confusion vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2021-30869 and assigned CWE-843, was present in multiple Apple operating systems. The flaw was addressed through improved state handling and affected iOS prior to 12.5.5 and 14.4, iPadOS prior to 14.4, macOS Big Sur prior to 11.2, and earlier Catalina and Mojave releases addressed by the listed 2021 security updates. The CVSS 3.1 score of 7.8 reflects local attack vector, low complexity, and no privileges required.
A malicious application running on an affected device can exploit the issue to achieve arbitrary code execution with kernel privileges. The attack requires user interaction such as opening a crafted file or application but needs no prior authentication.
Apple security advisories for the listed updates state that the vulnerability has been resolved in the specified iOS, iPadOS, and macOS releases. The vendor notes that it is aware of reports indicating an exploit for this issue exists in the wild.
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2021-17786
Vulnerability details
A type confusion issue was addressed with improved state handling. This issue is fixed in iOS 12.5.5, iOS 14.4 and iPadOS 14.4, macOS Big Sur 11.2, Security Update 2021-001 Catalina, Security Update 2021-001 Mojave, Security Update 2021-006 Catalina. A malicious…
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application may be able to execute arbitrary code with kernel privileges. Apple is aware of reports that an exploit for this issue exists in the wild.
- CWE(s)
- KEV Date Added
- 03 November 2021
Related Threats
No named actor attribution yet. ATT&CK technique mapping in progress for this CVE.
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
Directly requires timely installation of the vendor patches that eliminate the type-confusion flaw before a malicious application can exploit it.
Enforces process isolation boundaries that block a user-space application from reaching kernel memory objects via the type-confusion primitive.
Applies memory-protection mechanisms that detect or block the invalid type casts used to obtain kernel privileges.