Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2021-30945 is an Apple local privilege escalation issue. A person who already has local access to an affected device may be able to gain higher privileges. Apple fixed it across macOS, iOS/iPadOS, watchOS, and tvOS releases in December 2021 advisories.
Executive priority
Handle through normal but timely Apple endpoint patching. The local-access requirement lowers emergency urgency, but successful exploitation could increase an attacker’s control on an already-accessed device.
Technical view
Apple describes the issue only as addressed with improved checks. The public record does not identify the component, bug class, or precise vulnerable versions. Fixed releases include macOS Big Sur 11.6.2, macOS Monterey 12.1, Security Update 2021-008 Catalina, iOS/iPadOS 15.2, watchOS 8.3, and tvOS 15.2.
Likely exposure
Exposure is likely limited to Apple devices below the fixed releases listed by Apple. Because affected versions are unspecified, validate exposure by device patch level rather than attempting to match an exact vulnerable build range.
Exploitation context
The provided sources do not show active exploitation, and the CVE is not marked as KEV. The only supported attack condition is local access; no remote exploitation path or public exploit details are provided in the bundle.
Researcher notes
Public evidence is sparse. The record lacks CVSS, CWE, affected version ranges, component details, and exploit indicators. Avoid inferring root cause or exploitability beyond Apple’s local privilege escalation statement.
Mitigation direction
- Update macOS Big Sur systems to 11.6.2 or later.
- Update macOS Monterey systems to 12.1 or later.
- Apply Security Update 2021-008 to supported Catalina systems.
- Update iOS and iPadOS devices to 15.2 or later.
- Update watchOS devices to 8.3 or later.
- Update tvOS devices to 15.2 or later.
Validation and detection
- Inventory Apple endpoints and record current OS versions.
- Check MDM compliance against Apple fixed release levels.
- Confirm unmanaged Apple devices are included in patch reporting.
- Review exception lists for devices unable to update.
- Check Apple advisories for product-specific update details.
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.
CVE-2021-30945 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
- Unknown
- CVSS
- Not scored
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
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.
CVSS and timeline data
No CVSS vectors or timeline events were available in the normalized CVE source material.
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT212975CVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
- https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT212976CVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
- https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT212978CVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
- https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT212979CVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
- https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT212981CVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
- https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT212980CVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
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.