dbcve.org
macOSOperating system · Apple

CVE-2024-44275

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-10-28
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 13.7.1 / 14.7.1 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
The issue was addressed with improved checks. This issue is fixed in macOS Sequoia 15.1, macOS Sonoma 14.7.1, macOS Ventura 13.7.1. A malicious application may be able to modify protected parts of the file system.

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 is a local privilege escalation vulnerability in macOS where a malicious application could bypass file system protection mechanisms and modify protected parts of the file system. The vulnerability was addressed with improved permission checks in the affected macOS versions.

MitigationApply the security updates for macOS Sequoia 15.1, macOS Sonoma 14.7.1, or macOS Ventura 13.7.1 as appropriate for the environment. Additionally, ensure users run with least privilege and avoid running untrusted applications.

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:>= 13.0, < 13.7.1>= 14.0, < 14.7.1

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
High
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/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. Check installed macOS version
    Open Terminal and run: sw_vers -productVersion
    Affected if The version is 13.0 to 13.7.0, or 14.0 to 14.7.0 (falls within the affected ranges < 13.7.1 and < 14.7.1)
  2. Verify System Integrity Protection status
    Run: csrutil status
    Affected if SIP is disabled, as an attacker could more easily modify protected system locations without this defense
  3. Check for unauthorized admin account modifications
    Run: dscl . list /Users | grep -v '^_'; then review admin group membership with: dscl . read /Groups/admin
    Affected if Unexpected accounts exist in the admin group or unauthorized changes to user privileges are detected
  4. Inspect protected system directories for modifications
    Run: ls -la /Library/SystemMigration/History/ and ls -la /private/var/db/SystemKernelPolicy/ 2>/dev/null to check for unexpected files
    Affected if New or modified files exist in these protected system locations, indicating potential exploitation

A system is affected if it runs macOS Ventura 13.0-13.7.0 or macOS Sonoma 14.0-14.7.0 and an untrusted application could have been executed with elevated access.

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 13.7.1 / 14.7.1 or later
Fixed in 13.7.114.7.1
Interim mitigation

Apply the security updates for macOS Sequoia 15.1, macOS Sonoma 14.7.1, or macOS Ventura 13.7.1 as appropriate for the environment. Additionally, ensure users run with least privilege and avoid running untrusted applications.

Recommended fix High confidence

macOS Ventura 13.7.1 or macOS Sonoma 14.7.1 depending on current major version

  1. Backup important data on the Mac before applying updates.
  2. Check the current macOS version by clicking Apple menu > About This Mac.
  3. For macOS 13.x (Ventura) users: Install macOS Ventura 13.7.1 security update via System Settings > General > Software Update.
  4. For macOS 14.x (Sonoma) users: Install macOS Sonoma 14.7.1 security update via System Settings > General > Software Update.
  5. Verify the update was installed successfully by checking About This Mac to confirm the version matches 13.7.1 or 14.7.1.
Caveat Standard macOS update risks apply - ensure backups exist before updating; updates require restart

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
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,930
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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-2024-44275 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