CVE-2021-30997Network attack vector

Plaintext email recovery via automatic MIME loading

Published Aug 24, 2021 · Updated Aug 3, 2024

Information disclosure in Mail on Apple iOS and iPadOS before 15.2 allows remote attackers to recover S/MIME email plaintext. Mail automatically loads some MIME parts while handling encrypted messages, exposing decrypted content beyond the S/MIME protection boundary. The gate is processing S/MIME-encrypted email containing attacker-controlled MIME parts; the reported consequence is plaintext recovery only.

CVSS severity7.5
High
EPSS probability0.69%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Information disclosure in Mail on Apple iOS and iPadOS before 15.2 allows remote attackers to recover S/MIME email plaintext. Mail automatically loads some MIME parts while handling encrypted messages, exposing decrypted content beyond the S/MIME protection boundary. The gate is processing S/MIME-encrypted email containing attacker-controlled MIME parts; the reported consequence is plaintext recovery only.

The record

CVE
CVE-2021-30997
Published
Aug 24, 2021
Updated
Aug 3, 2024
Vendor
Apple
Product
iOS and iPadOS
Classifications
CWE-312
Attack vector
network
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Aug 24, 2021CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 3, 2024Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=unspecified <15.2

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

Apple · iOS and iPadOSversion=unspecified <15.2

Published CVSS scores

5.0NVDAV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:N/A:N
7.5NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

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No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectornetwork
Privilegesunauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-312Cleartext Storage of Sensitive Information

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

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Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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