Raw vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:HCVSS and EPSS are reproduced from their sources (NVD, FIRST EPSS). Risk Priority is our own derived reading, not an NVD score.
Summary
CVE-2021-30983 is a high-severity Classic Buffer Overflow (CWE-120) vulnerability in Apple Ipados. Its CVSS base score is 7.8 (High).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique NTDS (T1003.003); ranked in the top 13% 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 buffer overflow vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2021-30983 and assigned CWE-120, was present in iOS and iPadOS prior to versions 15.2. The flaw stems from insufficient memory handling and received a CVSS v3.1 score of 7.8. Successful exploitation enables an application to execute arbitrary code with kernel privileges.
The attack requires local access with no privileges but does involve user interaction, allowing a malicious application to achieve full kernel-level code execution on the device.
Apple addressed the issue through improved memory handling in the iOS 15.2 and iPadOS 15.2 releases, as detailed in HT212976. The vulnerability also appears in CISA's catalog of known exploited vulnerabilities, confirming real-world exploitation activity.
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2021-17900
Vulnerability Data
A buffer overflow issue was addressed with improved memory handling. This issue is fixed in iOS 15.2 and iPadOS 15.2. An application may be able to execute arbitrary code with kernel privileges.
- CWE(s)
- KEV Date Added
- 27 June 2022
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Control response
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V5.2.1
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.
Platform-independent managed code eliminates the need for unchecked native buffer copies that are the root cause of classic buffer overflows.
Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI
Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.
Vulnerability identification processes such as code review or scanning detect classic buffer overflows before exploitation.
Routine patching replaces vulnerable code containing unchecked buffer copies with corrected versions.
Secure development practices directly enforce bounds checking and input validation that prevent classic buffer overflows.
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.