Apple XNU Kernel Type Confusion Privilege Escalation
CVE-2021-30869 is a type confusion vulnerability in Apple’s XNU kernel. Apple states that the issue was caused by improper state handling and was fixed with improved state handling. The vulnerability allows a malicious application to trigger type confusion in kernel context and execute arbitrary code with kernel privileges. Supporting context further associates the bug with Mach port type manipulation in XNU, including references to an internal function described as adjust_port_type that changes the internal type of a Mach port. The flaw was exploited in the wild and was used as a local privilege-escalation component in macOS intrusion chains, including DazzleSpy/CDDS-style attacks, to escalate from userland code execution to root/kernel-level control.
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Impact, mitigation & remediation
What it means. What to do now. Patch path, mitigations, and the assume-compromise checklist.
Impact
What an attacker gets, and what they’ve been doing with it.
Mitigation
If you can’t patch tonight, do this now.
Remediation
Patch, then assume compromise.
Exploits
No public exploits tracked yet. Mallory keeps watching.
No public exploit code observed for this vulnerability.
Affected products & vendors
Products and vendors Mallory has correlated with this vulnerability. Open in Mallory to drill down to specific CPE configurations and version ranges.
Vendor-confirmed product mapping. Mallory continuously reconciles this list against your asset inventory.
Recent activity
5 sources tracked across advisories, community write-ups, and news. New activity surfaces here as Mallory finds it.
A type confusion vulnerability in the XNU kernel that allows a malicious application to execute arbitrary code with kernel privileges, enabling bypass of multiple macOS security layers on unpatched systems.
A kernel vulnerability referenced in the Apple advisory update entry.
A macOS privilege escalation vulnerability used after initial compromise to obtain root privileges and install the DazzleSpy payload.
A local privilege escalation vulnerability in macOS (CVE-2021-30869) that allows attackers to escalate privileges to root by altering Mach port types, used as a second stage after browser exploitation.
The version that knows your environment.
Query your assets running an affected version, and investigate the blast radius.
Every observed campaign linking this CVE to a named adversary.
Malware families riding this exploit, with evidence and IOCs.
YARA, Sigma, Snort, and vendor rules, auto-deployed to your SIEM.
Cross-references every affected SKU, including bundled OEM variants.
Community discussion across Reddit, Mastodon, and other social sources.