Cyber Resilience

CVE-2024-23296

Memory Safety in Apple Macos 12.0 – 12.7.6

CISA KEVActive ExploitationEUVD ExploitedMemory Safety
Published
05 March 2024
Modified
17 June 2026
KEV Added
06 March 2024
Patch / advisory
View advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 7.8
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.014 70th percentile
Risk Priority 83 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2024-23296 is a high-severity Out-of-bounds Write (CWE-787) vulnerability in Apple Macos. Its CVSS base score is 7.8 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploitation for Privilege Escalation (T1068); ranked in the top 30% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; CISA has added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog.

The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to SA-11 (Developer Testing and Evaluation) and SA-15 (Development Process, Standards, and Tools) — see the control section below for these in your framework.

Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary

Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.

A memory corruption vulnerability addressed through improved input validation affects multiple Apple operating systems, including iOS 16.7.8 and iPadOS 16.7.8, iOS 17.4 and iPadOS 17.4, macOS Monterey 12.7.6, macOS Sonoma 14.4, macOS Ventura 13.6.7, tvOS 17.4, visionOS 1.1, and watchOS 10.4. The flaw carries a CVSS score of 7.8 and is tracked under CWE-787.

An attacker who already possesses arbitrary kernel read and write primitives can leverage the issue to bypass kernel memory protections. Apple has stated that it is aware of a report indicating the vulnerability may have been exploited in the wild.

The referenced Apple security advisories detail that the issue is resolved in the listed operating system updates, which users should apply to eliminate the exposure. The associated EPSS score rose from a low baseline to a peak of 0.0118, indicating that exploitation interest emerged after disclosure.

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

A memory corruption issue was addressed with improved validation. This issue is fixed in iOS 16.7.8 and iPadOS 16.7.8, iOS 17.4 and iPadOS 17.4, macOS Monterey 12.7.6, macOS Sonoma 14.4, macOS Ventura 13.6.7, tvOS 17.4, visionOS 1.1, watchOS 10.4. An…

more

attacker with arbitrary kernel read and write capability may be able to bypass kernel memory protections. Apple is aware of a report that this issue may have been exploited.

CWE(s)
CWE-787
KEV Date Added
06 March 2024

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1068 Exploitation for Privilege Escalation Privilege Escalation
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in an attempt to elevate privileges.
attack.mitre.org →
T1190 Exploit Public-Facing Application Initial Access
Adversaries may attempt to exploit a weakness in an Internet-facing host or system to initially access a network.
attack.mitre.org →
T1203 Exploitation for Client Execution Execution
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in client applications to execute code.
attack.mitre.org →
T1210 Exploitation of Remote Services Lateral Movement
Adversaries may exploit remote services to gain unauthorized access to internal systems once inside of a network.
attack.mitre.org →
T1211 Exploitation for Stealth Stealth
Adversaries may exploit vulnerabilities to evade detection by hiding activity, suppressing logging, or operating within trusted or unmonitored components.
attack.mitre.org →
T1212 Exploitation for Credential Access Credential Access
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in an attempt to collect credentials.
attack.mitre.org →
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2024-23225Same product: Apple Ipadosboth on KEV
CVE-2022-22675Same product: Apple Ipadosboth on KEV
CVE-2021-30665Same product: Apple Ipadosboth on KEV
CVE-2021-30883Same product: Apple Ipadosboth on KEV
CVE-2022-32894Same product: Apple Ipadosboth on KEV
CVE-2021-30807Same product: Apple Ipadosboth on KEV
CVE-2020-27930Same product: Apple Ipadosboth on KEV
CVE-2020-3837Same product: Apple Ipadosboth on KEV
CVE-2022-22587Same product: Apple Ipadosboth on KEV
CVE-2023-28206Same product: Apple Ipadosboth on KEV

Affected Assets

apple
ipados
≤ 16.7.8 · 17.0 — 17.4
apple
iphone os
≤ 16.7.8 · 17.0 — 17.4
apple
macos
12.0 — 12.7.6 · 13.0 — 13.6.7 · 14.0 — 14.4
apple
tvos
≤ 17.4
apple
visionos
≤ 1.1
apple
watchos
≤ 10.4

Mitigating Controls

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

SA-11 Developer Testing and Evaluation good match

Developer testing and evaluation (including fuzzing and bounds checks) finds out-of-bounds write flaws before deployment.

SA-15 Development Process, Standards, and Tools partial match

Requiring documented secure-development standards and tools can mandate bounds-checked coding practices that avoid the weakness.

SI-10 Information Input Validation partial match

Input validation can structurally reject or sanitize data that would otherwise trigger an out-of-bounds write.

SI-16 Memory Protection partial match

Memory-protection mechanisms limit the exploitability and blast radius of a successful out-of-bounds write.

Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

PR.PS-06 mostly match
prevents

Secure-development practices (static analysis, bounds checking, code review) are the primary means of preventing out-of-bounds writes.

ID.RA-01 partial match
prevents

Vulnerability scanning and recording can discover out-of-bounds write flaws so they can be remediated.

PR.PS-02 partial match
prevents

Patching or replacing vulnerable software directly eliminates known instances of this coding weakness.

Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

A.8.29 Security testing in development and acceptance mostly match
finds

Security testing in development and acceptance can detect and prevent out-of-bounds write defects.

A.8.25 Secure development life cycle partial match
prevents

Secure development life cycle mandates practices that prevent out-of-bounds writes.

A.8.26 Application security requirements partial match
prevents

Application security requirements can specify bounds-checking and safe memory handling.

A.8.27 Secure system architecture and engineering principles partial match
prevents

Secure architecture and engineering principles reduce the likelihood of buffer overflows.

A.8.28 Secure coding partial match
prevents

Secure coding directly addresses out-of-bounds writes through language choice and coding standards.

A.8.32 Change management partial match
prevents

Change management can enforce review gates that catch unsafe memory operations before deployment.

References