dbcve.org
macOSOperating system · Apple

CVE-2024-44181

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-09-17
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 13.7 / 14.7 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
An issue was addressed with improved handling of temporary files. This issue is fixed in macOS Sequoia 15, macOS Sonoma 14.7, macOS Ventura 13.7. An app may be able to read sensitive location information.

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

This macOS vulnerability involves improper handling of temporary files that allows a malicious application to access sensitive location information. The flaw allows an app to read location data that should be protected, likely through insecure temporary file storage or insufficient access controls on location-related temp files.

MitigationApply the appropriate macOS security update (Ventura 13.7, Sonoma 14.7, or Sequoia 15) to affected systems. Ensure applications request location permissions through proper OS APIs rather than accessing temp files directly.

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:< 13.7>= 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
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 macOS version
    Run 'sw_vers -productVersion' in Terminal to get the exact macOS version number
    Affected if Version is below 13.7 (for Ventura) or 14.0-14.6 (for Sonoma)
  2. Verify if location services is enabled
    Go to System Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services, or run 'sudo defaults read /var/db/locationd/Library/Preferences/com.apple.locationd.plist LocationServicesEnabled'
    Affected if Location services is enabled on a vulnerable macOS version
  3. Check for world-readable location temp files
    Run 'ls -la /private/var/folders/ | head -20' to inspect temporary directory permissions, particularly looking for files in subdirectories accessible by other applications
    Affected if Temporary files or directories containing location-related data are readable by unauthorized processes
  4. Audit location database file permissions
    Run 'ls -la ~/Library/Application\ Support/LocationServices/' and check if files are group-readable or world-readable
    Affected if Location cache or database files have overly permissive access controls

A system is affected if it runs macOS Ventura below 13.7 or Sonoma 14.0-14.6, has location services enabled, and contains location-related temp files with insufficient access restrictions.

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 13.7 / 14.7 or later
Fixed in 13.714.7
Interim mitigation

Apply the appropriate macOS security update (Ventura 13.7, Sonoma 14.7, or Sequoia 15) to affected systems. Ensure applications request location permissions through proper OS APIs rather than accessing temp files directly.

Recommended fix High confidence

macOS Sequoia 15, macOS Sonoma 14.7, or macOS Ventura 13.7 (depending on current version line)

  1. Determine current macOS version by clicking Apple menu > About This Mac
  2. If running macOS Ventura (13.x), upgrade to macOS 13.7 or later
  3. If running macOS Sonoma (14.x), upgrade to macOS 14.7 or later
  4. If running an earlier version, consider upgrading to macOS Sequoia 15 for the latest security updates
  5. Back up important data before performing the upgrade via System Settings > General > Software Update
  6. Restart the device after the upgrade completes
Caveat Standard macOS upgrade considerations: back up data before upgrading, some legacy apps may not be compatible with newer macOS versions

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

Fix this in macOS Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
9.0 hours of engineering $1,600
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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-2024-44181 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