dbcve.org
IpadosOperating system · Apple

CVE-2024-40852

MEDIUM · 5.3 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-09-17
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 18.0 or later.
See remediation →
62/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable No privileges 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
This issue was addressed by restricting options offered on a locked device. This issue is fixed in iOS 18 and iPadOS 18. An attacker may be able to see recent photos without authentication in Assistive Access.

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

In Assistive Access mode on iOS/iPadOS, a vulnerability allowed an attacker with physical access to view recent photos without authentication due to insufficient restrictions on the locked device interface. The fix involves restricting options offered on a locked device.

MitigationUpgrade to iOS 18 or iPadOS 18 or later to address this authentication bypass in Assistive Access mode.

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:< 18.0
Iphone OsOperating system
Affected:< 18.0

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
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
Low
Integrity
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/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 or iPadOS version
    Go to Settings > General > About on the device and note the version number shown next to 'Version'
    Affected if The version number is lower than 18.0 (for example, 17.x or earlier)
  2. Verify Assistive Access mode status
    Go to Settings > Accessibility > Assistive Access (or Settings > Accessibility > VoiceOver > Assistive Access on older versions) and check whether the toggle is enabled
    Affected if Assistive Access mode is turned ON

The device is affected if it runs iOS/iPadOS version below 18.0 and has Assistive Access mode enabled, as this combination allows the authentication bypass to be exploited.

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 18.0 or later
Fixed in 18.0
Interim mitigation

Upgrade to iOS 18 or iPadOS 18 or later to address this authentication bypass in Assistive Access mode.

Recommended fix High confidence

iOS 18 and iPadOS 18

  1. Back up your iPhone or iPad using iCloud or your computer before upgrading
  2. Ensure your device is connected to Wi-Fi and plugged into power
  3. Go to Settings > General > Software Update on your device
  4. Download and install iOS 18 or iPadOS 18 when it becomes available
  5. After installation, verify the update by checking Settings > General > About > iOS Version
Caveat Major iOS upgrades may cause app incompatibility with older applications; review app updates before upgrading

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
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
5.0 hours of engineering $890
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,424.

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-2024-40852 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