CVE-2021-40531

Exp

Sketch before 75 allows library feeds to be used to bypass file quarantine. Files are automatically downloaded and opened, without the com.apple.quarantine extended attribute. This results in remote code execution, as demonstrated by CommandString in a terminal profile to Terminal.app.

Published: 2021-09-06 Last update: 2026-06-17 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2021-40531 is rated High Exploit Risk (93.5/100): CVSS Critical severity, with high exploitation likelihood (EPSS 32.77%, 98th percentile). Core evidence: 1 public exploit reference(s) are indexed (Exploit-DB). EPSS rose +16.17% over the last day, indicating growing attacker interest. Mandatory action: Public exploits are available—assess exposure, apply mitigations, and prioritize patching.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Public exploit references (Exploit-DB) for CVE-2021-40531

EDB-ID Source Kind Published Link
nvd_ref exploit_tag Exploit-DB ↗

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2021-40531

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2026-06-15 16.59% 32.77% +16.17%
2 2026-05-09 6.71% 16.59% +9.89%
3 2025-11-21 6.71%

Full EPSS history (23 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2021-40531

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
9.8 3.1 CRITICAL
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:N)
No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
3.9 5.9 [email protected]
7.5 2.0 HIGH
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P Click to expand
Access vector (AV:N)
Can be exploited remotely over network reachability.
Access complexity (AC:L)
Exploitation conditions are straightforward and predictable.
Authentication (AU:N)
No authentication is required.
Confidentiality impact (C:P)
Partial confidentiality impact.
Integrity impact (I:P)
Partial integrity impact.
Availability impact (A:P)
Partial availability impact.
10.0 6.4 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2021-40531

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2021-40531

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
sketch sketch < 75 cpe:2.3:a:sketch:sketch:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2021-40531

URL Tags
https://jonpalmisc.com/2021/11/22/cve-2021-40531 Exploit Third Party Advisory
https://www.sketch.com/updates/#version-75 Patch Release Notes Vendor Advisory
cvelogic Threat Intelligence