Samuel Axon
Today, Apple released a minor update to macOS Big Sur, numbered 11.2.1. Primarily, it fixes an issue that prevents some MacBook Pro models from charging their batteries properly.
The update also fixed a sudo bug that in some cases could play a role in allowing an attacker to gain root access to the device, plus some other security-related updates.
Apple has also released additional updates for Catalina 10.15.7 and Mojave 10.14.6 to address the same security vulnerabilities.
Apple’s very brief release notes for this update are as follows:
macOS Big Sur 11.2.1 fixes an issue that could prevent the battery from charging in some 2016 and 2017 MacBook Pro models.
Some features may not be available in all regions or on all Apple devices. For more detailed information about this update, please visit: https://support.apple.com/kb/HT211896 For detailed information about the security content of this update, please visit: https://support.apple.com/kb/HT201222
For more information about the security changes, here are the notes from the Apple documentation:
Intel graphics driver
Available for: macOS Big Sur 11.2, macOS Catalina 10.15.7
Impact: An application may be able to run arbitrary code with kernel privileges
Description: An out of bounds write was addressed with improved input validation.
CVE-2021-1805: ABC Research sro partners with Trend Micro Zero Day InitiativeIntel graphics driver
Available for: macOS Big Sur 11.2, macOS Catalina 10.15.7
Impact: An application may be able to run arbitrary code with kernel privileges
Description: A race condition was addressed with additional validation.
CVE-2021-1806: ABC Research sro partners with Trend Micro Zero Day Initiativesudo
Available for: macOS Big Sur 11.2, macOS Catalina 10.15.7, macOS Mojave 10.14.6
Impact: A local attacker may increase his privileges
Description: This issue was addressed with an update to sudo version 1.9.5p2.
CVE-2021-3156: Qualys
The updates are available today for all supported Macs. The last macOS update was quite recent: macOS Big Sur 11.2 was released on February 1. It fixed issues related to Bluetooth connectivity, external displays, and more.
List image by Apple