macOS Big Sur 11.2.1 addresses MacBook Pro charging issues

Today, Apple released a small update to macOS Big Sur, numbered 11.2.1. Primarily, it fixes a problem affecting some MacBook Pro models that prevented their batteries from charging properly.

The update also fixed a sudo bug that could in some cases play a part in allowing an attacker to gain root access to the device, plus some other security-related updates.

Apple also released supplemental updates for Catalina 10.15.7 and Mojave 10.14.6 to address the same security issues.

Apple’s very short release notes for this update are as follows:

macOS Big Sur 11.2.1 addresses an issue that may prevent the battery from charging in some 2016 and 2017 MacBook Pro models.

Some features may not be available for 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 info on the security changes, here are the notes from Apple’s documentation:

Intel Graphics Driver

Available for: macOS Big Sur 11.2, macOS Catalina 10.15.7
Impact: An application may be able to execute arbitrary code with kernel privileges
Description: An out-of-bounds write was addressed with improved input validation.
CVE-2021-1805: ABC Research s.r.o. working with Trend Micro Zero Day Initiative

Intel Graphics Driver

Available for: macOS Big Sur 11.2, macOS Catalina 10.15.7
Impact: An application may be able to execute arbitrary code with kernel privileges
Description: A race condition was addressed with additional validation.
CVE-2021-1806: ABC Research s.r.o. working with Trend Micro Zero Day Initiative

Sudo

Available for: macOS Big Sur 11.2, macOS Catalina 10.15.7, macOS Mojave 10.14.6
Impact: A local attacker may be able to elevate their privileges
Description: This issue was addressed by updating to sudo version 1.9.5p2.
CVE-2021-3156: Qualys

The updates are available to all supported Macs starting today. 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.