Cyber Resilience

CVE-2025-24118

Memory Safety in Apple Macos ≤ 14.7.3

Memory Safety
Published
27 January 2025
Modified
03 November 2025
Patch / advisory
View advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 7.1
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.037 89th percentile
Risk Priority 68 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2025-24118 is a high-severity Out-of-bounds Write (CWE-787) vulnerability in Apple Macos. Its CVSS base score is 7.1 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploitation for Privilege Escalation (T1068); ranked in the top 11% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV 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.

CVE-2025-24118 is an out-of-bounds write vulnerability stemming from insufficient memory handling in Apple's kernel. It affects iPadOS 17.7.4 prior to the listed update as well as macOS Sequoia before 15.3 and macOS Sonoma before 14.7.3. The flaw permits an application to trigger unexpected system termination or directly modify kernel memory.

An attacker with the ability to run a malicious app on an affected device can exploit the issue. Because the attack requires user interaction and runs with no special privileges, it is typically delivered via a crafted application that the victim is tricked into executing; successful exploitation yields high-integrity and high-availability impact on the host.

Apple has addressed the vulnerability through improved memory handling in the security updates iPadOS 17.7.4, macOS Sequoia 15.3, and macOS Sonoma 14.7.3, as documented in the vendor advisories at support.apple.com. The corresponding entries also appear in the January 2025 Full Disclosure mailing-list archives.

EPSS for the CVE currently stands at 0.27 with a recorded peak of 0.31; no public evidence of in-the-wild exploitation has been reported.

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

The issue was addressed with improved memory handling. This issue is fixed in iPadOS 17.7.4, macOS Sequoia 15.3, macOS Sonoma 14.7.3. An app may be able to cause unexpected system termination or write kernel memory.

CWE(s)
NVD-CWE-noinfoCWE-787

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-2022-22587Same product: Apple Ipados
CVE-2023-42871Same product: Apple Ipados
CVE-2024-23214Same product: Apple Ipados
CVE-2023-28206Same product: Apple Ipados
CVE-2023-27936Same product: Apple Ipados
CVE-2022-32917Same product: Apple Ipados
CVE-2021-30900Same product: Apple Ipados
CVE-2023-32397Same product: Apple Ipados
CVE-2023-42869Same product: Apple Ipados
CVE-2024-27873Same product: Apple Ipados

Affected Assets

apple
ipados
≤ 17.7.4
apple
macos
≤ 14.7.3 · 15.0 — 15.3

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