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Full vulnerability report · 2021
CVE-2021-30703High confidence

A double free issue was addressed with improved memory management

Apple · iOS and iPadOS

7.8HighCVSS 3.1
Recommended action
Within 7 days

High technical severity; prioritise exposed affected systems while verifying vendor guidance.

Fix not verified
R
Operational reassessment

Published severity in operational context

Open reassessment dashboard →
Published severityHighOperational priority:Medium, lowered one band.downgradedsince 3 Aug 2024

Evidence used

  • No CISA KEV confirmation is currently recorded.
  • Exploitation requires an existing local or physical foothold with privileges.
  • EPSS is 0.33% for the current model date.

Compensating controls

  • Restrict local access and enforce least privilege on affected hosts.
  • Monitor vendor guidance and exploitation sources for a material change.

Verification

  1. Confirm that the asset runs Apple iOS and iPadOS and falls inside the recorded affected range.
  2. Recheck the vendor advisory before scheduling a change because no verified fixed version is currently retained.
  3. Validate exposure, authentication requirements and compensating controls in the actual environment.
  4. Reopen this reassessment when CVSS, KEV, EPSS, exploit evidence or remediation changes.
Mitigation target: As exposure requiresRemediation target: Within 365 days

This automated reassessment organises public evidence. It does not know asset exposure, business impact or control effectiveness and does not replace CVSS or a human risk decision.

Optional official sources

National CERT insights
?CERT means Computer Emergency Response Team; CSIRT is the closely related term Computer Security Incident Response Team.

Choose official national sources for this report. Each advisory shows its original language. Your selection is remembered on this device and included in shared links.

Official European source

ENISA European Vulnerability Database

Official EUVD identifiers, advisory evidence and known-exploited context. Missing fields are not treated as evidence of low risk.

1 current
ENISA EUVD identifier

EUVD-2021-17620

No EUVD known-exploited evidence

ENISA has published the identifier mapping but no EUVD description has been stored yet.

EUVD state
Present in the current official mapping
Known exploitation
Not present in the current ENISA EUVD known-exploited dataset. This is not proof of no exploitation.
ENISA score
Not supplied in the stored EUVD record
Advisory evidence
No linked advisory details stored yet
Recommended actionWithin 7 days

High technical severity; prioritise exposed affected systems while verifying vendor guidance.

Fix not verified
01

What, why and how

A double free issue was addressed with improved memory management. This issue is fixed in tvOS 14.6, iOS 14.6 and iPadOS 14.6, Security Update 2021-004 Catalina, Security Update 2021-005 Mojave, macOS Big Sur 11.4, watchOS 7.5. An application may be able to execute arbitrary code with kernel privileges.

What

A double free issue was addressed with improved memory management. This issue is fixed in tvOS 14.6, iOS 14.6 and iPadOS 14.6, Security Update 2021-004 Catalina, Security Update 2021-005 Mojave, macOS Big Sur 11.4, watchOS 7.5. An application may be able to execute arbitrary code with kernel privileges.

Why

The product calls free() twice on the same memory address.

How

An attacker operating through local access may attempt exploitation with low privileges. If successful, the issue may execute code or commands in the affected security context.

What

A double free issue was addressed with improved memory management. This issue is fixed in tvOS 14.6, iOS 14.6 and iPadOS 14.6, Security Update 2021-004 Catalina, Security Update 2021-005 Mojave, macOS Big Sur 11.4, watchOS 7.5. An application may be able to execute arbitrary code with kernel privileges.

Why

The product calls free() twice on the same memory address.

How

An attacker operating through local access may attempt exploitation with low privileges. If successful, the issue may execute code or commands in the affected security context.

02

Exploit reality and attack path

CVSS severity, EPSS forecast probability, public exploit material and CISA-confirmed exploitation are separate signals.

Observed exploitation
?Confirmed exploitation and public exploit material are separate signals. Attacks can occur without public proof-of-concept or exploit code.
No confirmed evidence

No CISA KEV match was present at the last successful refresh. This means no confirmation from that source, not proof of no exploitation.

Public PoC / exploit material
?Confirmed exploitation and public exploit material are separate signals. Attacks can occur without public proof-of-concept or exploit code.
None recorded

No exploit-tagged reference or CISA SSVC proof-of-concept state is currently recorded. Research may still exist outside the structured feeds.

Likely attack path
local access → Double Free → execute code or commands in the affected security context
Attack surface
Local
Privileges required
Low: a basic authenticated account is required
User interaction
None
Attack complexity
Low: no specialised conditions are recorded
Security boundary
Unchanged: impact remains within the vulnerable component's security authority
Weakness
?CWE means Common Weakness Enumeration: a standard category for the underlying weakness.
CWE-415 ↗

CWE-415: Double Free. The product calls free() twice on the same memory address.

CVSS vector
?CVSS means Common Vulnerability Scoring System. The vector records the metric values used to calculate technical severity.
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Common Vulnerability Scoring System 3.1: the compact vector below is decoded into plain language.

AVLocalAttack vector: The attacker needs local access to the vulnerable system.ACLowAttack complexity: No specialised conditions are required beyond attacker-controlled input.PRLowPrivileges required: The attacker needs basic user-level privileges.UINoneUser interaction: No action by another user is required.SUnchangedScope: The security impact remains within the vulnerable component's authority.CHighConfidentiality impact: A successful attack can cause a major loss.IHighIntegrity impact: A successful attack can cause a major loss.AHighAvailability impact: A successful attack can cause a major loss.
Post-exploitation / living off the land
After compromise, an attacker may use built-in shells, scripting engines, scheduled tasks and native network utilities for discovery, persistence or movement. This is a plausible LoTL path, not evidence that it has occurred for every attack.
Remote code executionCWE-415
A

Official authority intelligence

Only matched European and national findings are included. Language selectors and unavailable sources are omitted.

Cyber Security Agency of Singapore · English · CSA-SB-20210915Security Bulletin 15 Sep 2021

The Cyber Security Agency of Singapore included this CVE in its official Security Bulletin 15 Sep 2021, published on 15 September 2021. Open the linked bulletin for the product, severity and reference information published in that issue.

Official advisory ↗
CERT-FR · French · CERTFR-2021-AVI-562Multiples vulnérabilités dans les produits Apple

d?id=CVE-2018-25010 Référence CVE CVE-2018-25011 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2018-25011 Référence CVE CVE-2018-25014 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2018-25014 Référence CVE CVE-2020-36328 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-36328 Référence CVE CVE-2020-36329 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-36329 Référence CVE CVE-2020-36330 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-36330 Référence CVE CVE-2020-36331 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-36331 Référence CVE CVE-2021-30672 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-30672 Référence CVE CVE-2021-30677 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-30677 Référence CVE CVE-2021-30703 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-30703 Référence CVE CVE-2021-30731 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-30731 Référence CVE CVE-2021-30733 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-30733 Référence CVE CVE-2021-30748 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-30748 Référence CVE CVE-2021-30758 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-30758 Référence CVE CVE-2021-30759 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-30759 Référence CVE CVE-2021-30760 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-30760 Référence CVE CVE-2021-30763 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-30763 Référence CVE CVE-2021-30765 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=

Official advisory ↗
JVN iPedia · Japanese · JVNDB-2021-013526複数の Apple 製品における二重解放に関する脆弱性

複数の Apple 製品には、二重解放に関する脆弱性が存在します。

Official advisory ↗
KISA KrCERT/CC · Korean · KNVD-5344Apple 제품 보안 업데이트 권고

macOS Mojave에서 Doulbe Free로 인해 발생하는 임의코드실행 취약점(CVE-2021-30703) 등 20개 [4]

Official advisory ↗
03

Patch and workaround

Operational remediation based on structured source evidence.

Status
?Patch availability is based on structured fixed-version fields and authoritative update references. If no fix is verified, check the vendor advisory before making a change.
Fix not verified
Affected
  • iOS and iPadOS: unspecified < 14.6
  • macOS: unspecified < 11.4, unspecified < 14.6, unspecified < 7.5, unspecified < 2021
Fixed
No fixed version is explicitly recorded in the structured CVE data.
Action
No verified patch reference is present in the current structured sources. Check the vendor advisory before making a change.
Workaround
No verified workaround is recorded. Limit untrusted access and use least privilege until authoritative guidance is available.
04

Evidence and provenance

Published 8 Sept 2021 · Last source change 3 Aug 2024, 22:40 UTC · CWE-415 · Double Free

CVE recordCVE.org · 5.1
CVSS sourceNIST NVD
EPSS source
?The date BlackTree first stored a score for this CVE from the daily FIRST EPSS feed.
FIRST · tracked since 2026-08-14
European sourceENISA EUVD · EUVD-2021-17620
Product sourceCNA
Remediation sourceCVE/CNA references
CWE sourceNIST NVD
NVD statusNVD modified after enrichment

Core structured fields are present and their contributing authorities are shown above.

Material change intelligence

What changed after publication

View recent updates ↗

No material field changes have been recorded since change tracking began. Routine source refreshes and cosmetic edits are intentionally excluded.

Material fields only · duplicate refreshes suppressed · history retained for the configured operational retention period
CVE published
ENISA EUVD · EUVD-2021-17620↗CVE authority or vendor reference↗Vendor advisory↗Vendor advisory↗Vendor advisory↗Official CVE record (CNA and ADP data)↗NVD record↗
Technical terms and abbreviations used in this report
CVE
Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures: the public identifier for one disclosed vulnerability.
CVSS
Common Vulnerability Scoring System: a technical severity framework; it is not patching priority by itself.
EPSS
Exploit Prediction Scoring System: FIRST's estimate of the probability that exploitation activity will be observed in the next 30 days; it is a forecast, not confirmation.
CWE
Common Weakness Enumeration: the standard category describing the underlying software or hardware weakness.
CNA
CVE Numbering Authority: an organisation authorised to assign and publish CVE records.
CISA ADP
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Authorized Data Publisher: structured enrichment added to a CVE record.
NVD
National Vulnerability Database: NIST's enrichment service for CVE records.
CERT / CSIRT
A computer security incident response team that publishes warnings or coordinates incident response.
PoC
Proof of concept: public material that demonstrates or helps reproduce exploitation.
CSAF
Common Security Advisory Framework: a machine-readable format for security advisories.
LoTL
Living off the land: abuse of legitimate tools or system functions during an attack.
Free version - for non-commercial use only.CVE-2021-30703 · cve.blacktree.nl