macOSOperating system · Apple

CVE-2024-40821

HIGH · 7.1 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-07-29
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 12.7.6 / 13.6.8 or later.
See remediation →
74/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
No privileges

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
An access issue was addressed with additional sandbox restrictions. This issue is fixed in macOS Monterey 12.7.6, macOS Sonoma 14.6, macOS Ventura 13.6.8. Third party app extensions may not receive the correct sandbox restrictions.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

A sandboxing vulnerability in macOS allowed third-party app extensions to potentially receive incorrect or insufficient sandbox restrictions, which could enable them to access resources beyond their intended permissions. Apple addressed this with additional sandbox restrictions in the specified macOS versions.

MitigationApply the macOS security updates (Monterey 12.7.6, Ventura 13.6.8, or Sonoma 14.6 and later) to all affected systems to ensure third-party extensions receive proper sandbox restrictions.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
macOSOperating system
Affected:>= 12.0, < 12.7.6>= 13.0, < 13.6.8>= 14.0, < 14.6

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify the installed macOS version
    Run 'sw_vers -productVersion' in Terminal or check System Settings > General > About
    Affected if The version is 12.0-12.7.5, 13.0-13.6.7, or 14.0-14.5 (any build before 12.7.6, 13.6.8, or 14.6)
  2. Confirm third-party app extensions are present
    Inspect /Library/Application Support/ and ~/Library/Application Support/ for third-party extension bundles (files ending in .appex), or check Applications folder for apps that contain extension components
    Affected if Any third-party apps with extensions are installed on an affected macOS version

A system is affected if it runs macOS Monterey 12.0-12.7.5, Ventura 13.0-13.6.7, or Sonoma 14.0-14.5 and has third-party app extensions installed.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 12.7.6 / 13.6.8 / 14.6 or later
Fixed in 12.7.613.6.814.6
Interim mitigation

Apply the macOS security updates (Monterey 12.7.6, Ventura 13.6.8, or Sonoma 14.6 and later) to all affected systems to ensure third-party extensions receive proper sandbox restrictions.

Recommended fix High confidence

macOS 12.7.6 (Monterey), macOS 13.6.8 (Ventura), or macOS 14.6 (Sonoma) - depending on your current major version

  1. Back up your Mac using Time Machine or another backup method before proceeding with the upgrade
  2. Open System Settings (or System Preferences on older macOS versions)
  3. Navigate to General > Software Update
  4. Allow macOS to check for updates - it will detect the available security update
  5. For macOS Monterey (12.x) users: Upgrade to macOS 12.7.6
  6. For macOS Ventura (13.x) users: Upgrade to macOS 13.6.8
  7. For macOS Sonoma (14.x) users: Upgrade to macOS 14.6
  8. Restart your Mac when prompted to complete the installation
Caveat Security patch with minimal risk; always recommended to test critical applications after system updates

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in macOS Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
7.0 hours of engineering $1,240
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,984.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2024-40821 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data