Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
This Apple flaw lets a malicious local app potentially gain higher privileges on affected devices. Apple fixed it across iOS/iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS releases in early 2021. Because Apple reported possible active exploitation and CISA lists it in KEV, treat unpatched Apple endpoints as urgent legacy exposure.
Executive priority
High priority for any organization still running legacy Apple operating systems. This is not a perimeter vulnerability, but it can turn local app execution into full device compromise, and KEV status makes remediation expectations stronger for regulated environments.
Technical view
CVE-2021-1782 is a race condition, mapped to CWE-667, addressed by improved locking. The CVSS vector indicates local access, high attack complexity, low privileges, no user interaction, and high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact. Public sources do not provide deeper root-cause detail.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely on Apple devices below iOS/iPadOS 14.4, macOS Big Sur 11.2, Catalina/Mojave Security Update 2021-001, watchOS 7.3, or tvOS 14.4. The bundle lists affected versions as unspecified, so inventory-based version validation is required.
Exploitation context
Active exploitation is supported by Apple’s statement that it was aware of a report of active exploitation and by CISA KEV inclusion. Sources do not describe exploit maturity, targets, campaigns, or public exploit availability. Do not infer internet exposure; the CVSS vector is local.
Researcher notes
The public record is sparse: Apple names a race condition fixed with improved locking and privilege escalation impact, but not the vulnerable component or exploit chain. Validation should focus on version state, KEV-driven remediation tracking, and local privilege escalation risk from malicious applications.
Mitigation direction
- Update Apple devices to the fixed versions or later.
- Prioritize unsupported or unmanaged Apple endpoints for upgrade or removal.
- Check Apple’s current guidance for any platform-specific remediation notes.
- Limit execution of untrusted local applications on legacy Apple devices.
- Use MDM reporting to enforce minimum OS baselines.
Validation and detection
- Inventory Apple OS versions across managed and unmanaged assets.
- Confirm iOS and iPadOS devices run 14.4 or later.
- Confirm macOS Big Sur devices run 11.2 or later.
- Confirm Catalina and Mojave systems have Security Update 2021-001.
- Confirm watchOS 7.3 and tvOS 14.4 baselines where relevant.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CWE-667: Exact CWE lookup
Use the exact CWE identifier as the starting point before reviewing related ATT&CK behavior. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2021-1782 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- High
- CVSS
- 7 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- Yes
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5
These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.
CISA KEV status
CVSS vector scores
1 official scoreWe collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H15.9Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
7HighVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT212147CVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
- https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT212146CVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
- https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT212148CVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
- https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT212149CVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
- https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2021-1782CVE reference · government-resource
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.
Improper Locking
Improper Locking represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.