macOS Big Sur 11.5.1 Update (20G80) is Live! What’s New?

macOS Big Sur 11.5.1 Update (20G80) is now available for all users!

UPDATED 07/26

Apple just dropped the new macOS Big Sur 11.5.1 Update. Let’s jump in and find out what’s new in this update!

The Big Sur 11.5.1 update fixes a serious exploit where an application may be able to execute arbitrary code with kernel privileges.

Apple says the following –>

Apple is aware of a report that this issue may have been actively exploited.

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT212622

My recommendation is to update your Big Sur devices ASAP.

macOS Big Sur 11.5.1 Patch Notes Summary

• 0 – New Features
• 0 – Resolved Issues
• 1 – Security Fixes

Table of Contents

• 1. Apple Links
• 2. Apple Articles of interest related to the macOS Big Sur Update
• 3. Undocumented macOS Big Sur Update changes & fixes
• 4. Big Sur 11 Final Release History
• 5. macOS Big Sur 11 Standalone Pkg downloads no longer available.
• 6. macOS Big Sur Full Installer.app
• 7. macOS Big Sur Update sizes for Intel and M1
• 8. Apple Silicon M1 Firmware Update
• 9. Intel T2 BridgeOS Update
• 10. Apple Silicon IPSW Restore file Update
• 11. Safari Update
• 12. What’s new for enterprise in macOS Big Sur
• 13. Security Content of the macOS Big Sur Update
• 14. macOS Big Sur Release Notes / Patch Notes / Changes

Click “Continue Reading” for the rest of the article.

1. Apple Links

AppleSeed Notes Link = appleseed.apple.com/

Developer Public Link = developer.apple.com/documentation/macos-release-notes

Direct Link to macOS Big Sur Patch Notes – https://developer.apple.com/documentation/macos-release-notes/macos-big-sur-11_5-release-notes

macOS Deployment References Changes – https://support.apple.com/guide/deployment-reference-macos/document-revision-history-apd04dff7069/web

2. Articles of interest & info related to the macOS Big Sur Update

• 1. None as of right now.

3. Undocumented macOS Big Sur update changes & fixes

• 1. None as of right now.

4. Big Sur 11 Final Release History

• 12. Big Sur 11.5.1 (20G80) – 7/26/21 – Current Release
• 11. Big Sur 11.5 (20G71) – 7/21/21 – My Release Notes
• 10. Big Sur 11.4 (20F71) – 05/24/21 – My Release Notes
• 9. Big Sur 11.3.1 (20E241) – 05/03/21 – My Release Notes
• 8. Big Sur 11.3 (20E232) – 04/26/21 – My Release Notes
• 7. Big Sur 11.2.3 (20D91) – 03/08/21 – My Release Notes
• 6. Big Sur 11.2.2 (20D80) – 2/25/21 – My Release Notes
• 5. Big Sur 11.2.1 (20D74) – 02/09/21 – My Release Notes
• 4. Big Sur 11.2 (20D64) – 02/01/21 – My Release Notes
• 3. Big Sur 11.1 (20C69) – 12/14/20 – My Release Notes
• 2. Big Sur 11.0.1 (20B50) – 11/19/20 – My Release Notes
• 1. Big Sur 11.0.1 (20B29) – 11/12/20 – My Release Notes

5. macOS Big Sur 11 Standalone Pkg downloads no longer available.

Note: Starting with macOS Big Sur, Combo and Delta update pkg’s aka packages are not available as standalone downloads.

More Info – eclecticlight.co/2020/12/17/apple-has-stopped-providing-standalone-installers-for-macos-updates/

6. macOS Big Sur Full Installer.app

The full installer of MacOS Big Sur is now available.

In the link below, I have a listing and links to all of the Final & Beta versions of the macOS Big Sur Full installer.

https://mrmacintosh.com/macos-big-sur-full-installer-database-download-directly-from-apple/

InstallAssistant.pkg = Full download. Installing this package will add the full “Install macOS Big Sur.app” to your applications folder.

Link – macOS Big Sur Mac App Store

Requirements – macOS Big Sur 11 Requirements

7. macOS Big Sur Update sizes for Intel and M1

Apple Silicon M1 Update

Delta Update size for Apple Silicon M1 Mac devices. The size listed is for one update behind. Example 11.4 > 11.5

• 9. Big Sur 11.5.1 Update Size = 2.31GB – (3.23GB Actual)
• 8. Big Sur 11.5 Update Size = 2.93GB – (3.84GB Actual)
• 7. Big Sur 11.4 Update Size = 3.06GB – (3.96GB Actual)
• 6. Big Sur 11.3 Update Size = 2.4GB – (3.30GB Actual)
• 5. Big Sur 11.2.3 Update Size = 5.71GB – (6.42GB Actual)
• 4. Big Sur 11.2.2 Update Size = 2.44GB – (3.37GB Actual)
• 3. Big Sur 11.2 Update Size = 2.5GB – (3.43GB Actual)
• 2. Big Sur 11.1 Update Size = 3.26GB – (4.19GB Actual)
• 1. Big Sur 11.0.1 Update Size 3.66GB – (4.59GB Actual)

Intel Big Sur Delta Update

This is the update is for updating from 11.5 > 11.5.1

Size = 2.32GB

Intel Big Sur Update if you are more than one release behind

This is update is for updating from previous releases 11.0.1 > 11.5.1

Size = 3GB – 12.0GB

8. Apple Silicon M1 Firmware Update

This update has a new firmware update. This version number is reported in System Information under “System Firmware Version“

Apple Silicon M1 Firmware Update = NOT UPDATED – 6723.140.2

Previous Firmware Updates

• 16. Big Sur 11.5.1 – 6723.140.2
• 15. Big Sur 11.5 – 6723.140.2
• 14. Big Sur 11.4 – 6723.120.36
• 13. Big Sur 11.3.1 – 6723.101.4
• 12. Big Sur 11.3 – 6723.101.4
• 11. Big Sur 11.2.3 – 6723.81.1
• 10. Big Sur 11.2.2 – 6723.81.1
• 9. Big Sur 11.2.1 – 6723.81.1
• 8. Big Sur 11.2 – 6723.81.1
• 5. Big Sur 11.1 – 6723.61.3
• 2. Big Sur 11.0.1 – 6723.50.2
• 1. Big Sur 11.0 – 6723.41.11

9. Intel T2 BridgeOS Update

The Version of BridgeOS for your T2 Security Chip (2018-2020 Intel Macs) was updated.

BridgeOS version = NOT Updated – 18.16.14759.0.1

Previous T2 Bridge Updates

• 19. Big Sur 11.5.1 = 18.16.14759.0.1 – Build version 13
• 18. Big Sur 11.5 = 18.16.14759.0.1
• 17. Big Sur 11.4 = 18.16.14663.0.0
• 16. Big Sur 11.3.1 = 18.16.14556.0.0 – Build version 29
• 15. Big Sur 11.3 = 18.16.14556.0.0
• 14. Big Sur 11.2.3 = 18.16.14347.0.0 – Build version 5
• 13. Big Sur 11.2.2 = 18.16.14347.0.0
• 12. Big Sur 11.2.1 = 18.16.14346.0.0
• 11. Big Sur 11.2 = 18.16.14346.0.0
• 10. Big Sur 11.1 = 18.16.13030.0.0
• 9. Previous 11.1 Beta = 18.16.13017.5.3
• 8. Previous Beta RC2 = 18.16.12560.5.1
• 7. Previous Beta 11 = 18.15.12551
• 6. Previous Beta 10 = 18.16.12402.5.2
• 5. Previous Beta 9 = 18.16.12390.5.1
• 4. Previous Beta 8 = 18.16.12380 Build Version 3
• 3. Previous Beta 7 = 18.16.12380
• 2. Previous Beta 6 = 18.16.12370.5.1
• 1. Previous Beta 5 = 18.16.10358.5.2

10. Apple Silicon IPSW Restore file Update

Apple has released the full IPSW restore file for Apple Silicon Macs. I keep track of all of them in my Apple Silicon Firmware Database

https://mrmacintosh.com/apple-silicon-m1-full-macos-restore-ipsw-firmware-files-database/

• 11. macOS Big Sur 11.5.1 = UniversalMac_11.5.1_20G80_Restore.ipsw
• 10. macOS Big Sur 11.5 = UniversalMac_11.5_20G71_Restore.ipsw
• 9. macOS Big Sur 11.4 = UniversalMac_11.4_20F71_Restore.ipsw
• 8. macOS Big Sur 11.3.1 = UniversalMac_11.3.1_20E241_Restore.ipsw
• 7. macOS Big Sur 11.3 = UniversalMac_11.3_20E232_Restore.ipsw
• 6. macOS Big Sur 11.2.3 = UniversalMac_11.2.3_20D91_Restore.ipsw
• 5. macOS Big Sur 11.2.2 = UniversalMac_11.2.2_20D80_Restore.ipsw
• 4. macOS Big Sur 11.2.1 = UniversalMac_11.2.1_20D74_Restore.ipsw
• 3. macOS Big Sur 11.2 = UniversalMac_11.2_20D64_Restore.ipsw
• 2. macOS Big Sur 11.1 = UniversalMac_11.1_20C69_Restore.ipsw
• 1. macOS Big Sur 11.0.1 = UniversalMac_11.0.1_20B29_Restore.ipsw

11. Safari Update

The new version of Safari was NOT included in the macOS Big Sur update.

• 5. Big Sur 11.5.1 = Safari 14.1.2 (16611.3.10.1.3) Same as 11.5 Update
• 4. Big Sur 11.5 = Safari 14.1.2 (16611.3.10.1.3)
• 3. Big Sur 11.4 = Safari 14.1.1 (16611.2.7.1.4)
• 2. Big Sur 11.3.1 = Safari 14.1 (16611.1.21.161.6)
• 1. Big SUr 11.3 = Safari 14.1 (16611.1.21.161.3)

12. What’s new for Enterprise in macOS Big Sur

New Enterprise Features

None at this moment.

Fixed Enterprise Issues

13. Security Content of macOS Big Sur

Apple’s main Security Document for all OS security updates.

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201222

The macOS Big Sur 11.5.1 update has 1 specific security fix.

Apple has provided a detailed listing of every fix in the article below.

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT212622

14. macOS Big Sur 11.5.1 (20G80) Release Notes

macOS Big Sur 11.5.1 Includes the following improvements for your Mac

IOMobileFrameBuffer

Available for: macOS Big Sur

Impact: An application may be able to execute arbitrary code with kernel privileges. Apple is aware of a report that this issue may have been actively exploited.

Description: A memory corruption issue was addressed with improved memory handling.

CVE-2021-30807: an anonymous researcher