dbcve.org
IpadosOperating system · Apple

CVE-2024-40836

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-07-29
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 10.6 / 14.6 or later.
See remediation →
57/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Zero-click

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
A logic issue was addressed with improved checks. This issue is fixed in iOS 16.7.9 and iPadOS 16.7.9, iOS 17.6 and iPadOS 17.6, macOS Sonoma 14.6, watchOS 10.6. A shortcut may be able to use sensitive data with certain actions without prompting the user.

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 · moderate confidence

A logic flaw in Apple's Shortcuts application allows shortcuts to access sensitive user data (such as contacts, photos, location, or other protected data) without triggering the normal user prompts or authorization requests that should precede such access. This could enable a malicious or misconfigured shortcut to silently exfiltrate sensitive information.

MitigationApply the vendor-supplied patches (iOS 16.7.9/17.6, iPadOS 16.7.9/17.6, macOS Sonoma 14.6, watchOS 10.6) to all affected devices. Review existing shortcuts for suspicious behavior or unexpected data access patterns.

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
IpadosOperating system
Affected:< 16.7.9>= 17.0, < 17.6
Iphone OsOperating system
Affected:< 16.7.9>= 17.0, < 17.6
macOSOperating system
Affected:>= 14.0, < 14.6
WatchosOperating system
Affected:< 10.6

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
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/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. Check iOS version on iPhone
    Go to Settings > General > About and note the version number. Compare it to the affected ranges: < 16.7.9 or >= 17.0 and < 17.6
    Affected if The iOS version falls within < 16.7.9, >= 17.0 to < 17.6
  2. Check iPadOS version on iPad
    Go to Settings > General > About and note the version number. Compare it to the affected ranges: < 16.7.9 or >= 17.0 and < 17.6
    Affected if The iPadOS version falls within < 16.7.9, >= 17.0 to < 17.6
  3. Check macOS version on Mac
    Go to System Settings > About (or Apple menu > About This Mac) and note the version number. Compare to affected range: >= 14.0 and < 14.6
    Affected if The macOS version is 14.0 through 14.5.x
  4. Check watchOS version on Apple Watch
    On iPhone, open the Watch app, go to General > About, and note the watchOS version. Compare to affected range: < 10.6
    Affected if The watchOS version is below 10.6
  5. Identify shortcuts accessing sensitive data
    Open the Shortcuts app and review installed shortcuts. Look for any that use actions accessing contacts, photos, location, health data, or other protected categories without apparent user prompts
    Affected if Any shortcut accesses protected data categories (contacts, photos, location, etc.) and the OS version is in the affected range listed above

You are affected if your device runs an OS version in the vulnerable range AND you use shortcuts that access sensitive data without explicit authorization prompts.

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 10.6 / 14.6 / 16.7.9 or later
Fixed in 10.614.616.7.9
Interim mitigation

Apply the vendor-supplied patches (iOS 16.7.9/17.6, iPadOS 16.7.9/17.6, macOS Sonoma 14.6, watchOS 10.6) to all affected devices. Review existing shortcuts for suspicious behavior or unexpected data access patterns.

Recommended fix High confidence

iOS 16.7.9 or iOS 17.6 / iPadOS 16.7.9 or iPadOS 17.6 / macOS Sonoma 14.6 / watchOS 10.6

  1. For iPhone: Go to Settings > General > Software Update and install iOS 16.7.9 (for older devices) or iOS 17.6 (for supported devices)
  2. For iPad: Go to Settings > General > Software Update and install iPadOS 16.7.9 (for older devices) or iPadOS 17.6 (for supported devices)
  3. For Mac: Go to System Settings > General > Software Update and install macOS Sonoma 14.6
  4. For Apple Watch: On the Watch app on iPhone, go to General > Software Update and install watchOS 10.6
  5. After updating, verify the installed version matches the security update in Settings > General > About

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

Fix this in Ipados Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,040
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Scan for this in your stack

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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-2024-40836 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