macOSOperating system · Apple

CVE-2024-40841

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-09-17
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 14.7 or later.
See remediation →
58/100
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 out-of-bounds write issue was addressed with improved bounds checking. This issue is fixed in macOS Sequoia 15, macOS Sonoma 14.7. Processing a maliciously crafted video file may lead to unexpected app termination.

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

An out-of-bounds write vulnerability in macOS video processing components allows a maliciously crafted video file to write data beyond allocated buffer boundaries, causing application termination. The issue stems from insufficient bounds checking during video file parsing.

MitigationApply macOS security updates (Sonoma 14.7 or later, Sequoia 15 or later) to patch the vulnerability. Avoid opening untrusted video files until the update is installed.

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:>= 14.0, < 14.7

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
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

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

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 installed macOS version
    Run `sw_vers -productVersion` in Terminal or select Apple menu > About This Mac
    Affected if The version is 14.0 through 14.6.x (anything less than 14.7)
  2. Identify video processing usage
    Check for applications or processes that handle video files, such as QuickTime, Final Cut Pro, third-party video editors, or any app that parses video files
    Affected if Video processing applications are installed and used on the system
  3. Verify video framework availability
    Examine /System/Library/Frameworks for video-related frameworks (AVFoundation.framework, CoreMedia.framework, VideoToolbox.framework) using `ls /System/Library/Frameworks/ | grep -i video`
    Affected if These frameworks exist on the system (present by default in macOS)
  4. Check for sandboxed video services
    Review running processes for mediaanalysisd or other media processing services: `ps aux | grep -i media`
    Affected if Media processing services are running

A system is affected if it runs macOS version 14.0 through 14.6.x and has the capability to process video files through built-in frameworks or applications.

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 14.7 or later
Fixed in 14.7
Interim mitigation

Apply macOS security updates (Sonoma 14.7 or later, Sequoia 15 or later) to patch the vulnerability. Avoid opening untrusted video files until the update is installed.

Recommended fix High confidence

macOS Sonoma 14.7 or macOS Sequoia 15

  1. Back up your Mac using Time Machine or another backup method before performing the update
  2. Check your current macOS version by clicking the Apple menu and selecting About This Mac
  3. Open System Settings > General > Software Update
  4. If macOS 14.7 or later is available, click Update Now to install the security update
  5. Alternatively, if macOS Sequoia 15 is offered, you can upgrade to that version which also contains the fix
  6. Restart your Mac when prompted to complete the installation
  7. After updating, verify the version by checking About This Mac shows version 14.7 or later
Caveat Upgrading to macOS Sequoia 15 is a major version upgrade and may have app compatibility considerations; macOS 14.7 is a minor security update with fewer compatibility risks

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

Fix this in macOS Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation6.0 h
  • Implementation12.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
27.0 hours of engineering $4,800
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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-2024-40841 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