macOSOperating system · Apple

CVE-2024-54490

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-12-12
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 15.2 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
This issue was addressed by enabling hardened runtime. This issue is fixed in macOS Sequoia 15.2. A local attacker may gain access to user's Keychain items.

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 local attacker with macOS access can bypass security controls to read Keychain items. The vulnerability was addressed by enabling hardened runtime, a macOS security feature that enforces code signing and runtime protections.

MitigationApply macOS Sequoia 15.2 or later security updates. For legacy systems, enable hardened runtime in the affected application's configuration and ensure proper code signing.

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:< 15.2

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
    Affected if Version is below 15.2 (e.g., 15.1, 14.x, 13.x, etc.)
  2. Identify applications accessing Keychain
    Review installed applications that handle credentials, passwords, or sensitive data (e.g., browsers, email clients, password managers)
    Affected if Any such application is in use on an unpatched macOS version
  3. Verify hardened runtime status for suspect applications
    Run 'codesign -dvvv /path/to/application.app 2>&1' and look for 'Hardened Runtime = Yes' in the output
    Affected if The application shows 'Hardened Runtime = No' or lacks this line entirely (vulnerable configuration)
  4. Check code signing validity
    Run 'codesign --verify --verbose=2 /path/to/application.app' to verify code signature status
    Affected if Application fails verification or shows invalid/detached signature, indicating security controls may be weakened

User is affected if running macOS below 15.2 AND applications that access Keychain have hardened runtime disabled or code signing issues.

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 15.2 or later
Fixed in 15.2
Interim mitigation

Apply macOS Sequoia 15.2 or later security updates. For legacy systems, enable hardened runtime in the affected application's configuration and ensure proper code signing.

Recommended fix High confidence

macOS Sequoia 15.2

  1. Back up your Mac using Time Machine or another backup method before upgrading
  2. Verify application compatibility with macOS Sequoia 15.2
  3. Open System Settings > General > Software Update
  4. Install macOS Sequoia 15.2 or later
  5. Restart your Mac when prompted to complete the installation
Caveat Major macOS upgrades may have compatibility issues with older third-party applications; verify software compatibility before upgrading

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
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,088.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2024-54490 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

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-2024-54490 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