macOSOperating system · Apple

CVE-2024-54498

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-12-12
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 13.7.2 / 14.7.2 or later.
See remediation →
90/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
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
A path handling issue was addressed with improved validation. This issue is fixed in macOS Sequoia 15.2, macOS Sonoma 14.7.2, macOS Ventura 13.7.2. An app may be able to break out of its sandbox.

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 sandbox escape vulnerability in macOS stemming from improper path handling and validation. An application could exploit this path handling flaw to break out of its sandbox and access resources outside its allowed permissions boundary.

MitigationApply the appropriate macOS security update: macOS Sequoia 15.2, macOS Sonoma 14.7.2, or macOS Ventura 13.7.2. Prioritize updating systems running affected versions.

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:< 13.7.2>= 14.0, < 14.7.2>= 15.0, < 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
Changed
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/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. Identify installed macOS version
    Run 'sw_vers -productVersion' in Terminal to get the exact macOS version number (e.g., 14.6.1, 15.1)
    Affected if The version falls outside the safe versions: 13.7.2 and later, 14.7.2 and later, or 15.2 and later
  2. Compare version against affected ranges
    Check if your version is less than 13.7.2, OR between 14.0 and 14.7.1 inclusive, OR between 15.0 and 15.1 inclusive
    Affected if Your version matches any of these vulnerable ranges: < 13.7.2, >= 14.0 and < 14.7.2, or >= 15.0 and < 15.2
  3. Confirm macOS build date (optional)
    Run 'system_profiler SPSoftwareDataType' to view detailed system information including the build version
    Affected if The build version corresponds to an affected macOS release within the vulnerable version ranges above

You are affected if your macOS version is 13.7.1 or earlier, 14.0 through 14.7.1, or 15.0 through 15.1 - update to the patched version for your release line to remediate.

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 13.7.2 / 14.7.2 / 15.2 or later
Fixed in 13.7.214.7.215.2
Interim mitigation

Apply the appropriate macOS security update: macOS Sequoia 15.2, macOS Sonoma 14.7.2, or macOS Ventura 13.7.2. Prioritize updating systems running affected versions.

Recommended fix High confidence

macOS 13.7.2 (Ventura), macOS 14.7.2 (Sonoma), or macOS 15.2 (Sequoia) depending on current version

  1. Check the current macOS version by clicking the Apple menu > About This Mac
  2. If running macOS Ventura (13.x), upgrade to macOS 13.7.2 by opening System Settings > General > Software Update and installing the available update
  3. If running macOS Sonoma (14.0-14.7.1), upgrade to macOS 14.7.2 by opening System Settings > General > Software Update and installing the available update
  4. If running macOS Sequoia (15.0-15.1), upgrade to macOS 15.2 by opening System Settings > General > Software Update and installing the available update
  5. Restart the Mac when prompted to complete the installation
Caveat Point releases typically have minimal breaking changes; verify critical applications are compatible before updating

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

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Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2024-54498 — 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-2024-54498 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