What is CVE-2021-31010?

CVE-2021-31010 is a high-severity vulnerability in Apple Ipados, classified under Deserialization of Untrusted Data. CVSS score: 7.5/10. Published 2021-08-24.

How severe is CVE-2021-31010?

High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 7.5 out of 10.

Is CVE-2021-31010 known to be exploited?

Yes. CVE-2021-31010 is listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2022-08-25), indicating it is being actively exploited. 2 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed.

Deserialization in Apple Ipados

CVE-2021-31010

A deserialization issue was addressed through improved validation. This issue is fixed in Security Update 2021-005 Catalina, iOS 12.5.5, iOS 14.8 and iPadOS 14.8, macOS Big Sur 11.6, watchOS 7.6.2. A sandboxed process may be able to circumvent sandbox restrictions. Apple was aware of a report that this issue may have been actively exploited at the time of release..

Vulnerability class: Insecure Deserialization

Published 2021-08-24 · last modified 2026-06-17.

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 7.5 (High). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N.

EPSS exploit prediction

EPSS: 0.037 (89.5th percentile), scored 2026-10-19.

Low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, but still tracked. 90th percentile — 89.5% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.

EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.037 · newest: 0.037 · change: 0.000

Affected products

Apple Ipados
Apple Iphone OS
Apple macOS — versions unspecified
Apple Mac OS X — versions 10.15.7
Apple watchOS — versions unspecified

Weakness classification (CWE)

CWE-502 — Deserialization of Untrusted Data

CISA KEV (Known Exploited Vulnerabilities)

This CVE is on the CISA KEV catalog, added on 2022-08-25. CISA KEV inclusion means CISA has confirmed in-the-wild exploitation; US federal agencies are required to remediate within a published due date.

BOD 22-01 due date: 2022-09-15.

Required action: Apply updates per vendor instructions.

Public proof-of-concept exploits

References

support.apple.com/en-us/HT212804 (Vendor Advisory)
support.apple.com/en-us/HT212805 (Vendor Advisory)
support.apple.com/en-us/HT212807 (Vendor Advisory)
support.apple.com/en-us/HT212806 (Vendor Advisory)
support.apple.com/en-us/HT212824 (Vendor Advisory)
134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0 (US Government Resource)

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2021-31010?: CVE-2021-31010 is a high-severity vulnerability in Apple Ipados, classified under Deserialization of Untrusted Data. CVSS score: 7.5/10. Published 2021-08-24.
How severe is CVE-2021-31010?: High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 7.5 out of 10.
Is CVE-2021-31010 known to be exploited?: Yes. CVE-2021-31010 is listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2022-08-25), indicating it is being actively exploited. 2 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed.