dbcve.org
macOSOperating system · Apple

CVE-2024-54515

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-12-12
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 15.2 or later.
See remediation →
80/100
Remediation priority · High
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 logic issue was addressed with improved restrictions. This issue is fixed in macOS Sequoia 15.2. A malicious app may be able to gain root privileges.

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 Sequoia 15.2 where a logic flaw allowed a malicious application to bypass restrictions and elevate privileges to root. The fix involved implementing improved restrictions to prevent unauthorized privilege escalation.

MitigationApply macOS Sequoia 15.2 or later via standard Apple software update mechanism to address the logic flaw enabling root privilege escalation.

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
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/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. Determine installed macOS version
    Click the Apple menu in the top-left corner, select 'About This Mac', and note the version number displayed under the macOS name
    Affected if The displayed version number is less than 15.2 (for example, 15.1, 15.0, 14.x, 13.x, etc.)
  2. Confirm build number (optional)
    In 'About This Mac', click 'More Info' and note the Build Number shown under the macOS version details
    Affected if The build number corresponds to a pre-15.2 release (check Apple release notes for specific build numbers if precise confirmation is needed)

If the macOS version is below 15.2, the environment is vulnerable to this local privilege escalation flaw.

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 via standard Apple software update mechanism to address the logic flaw enabling root privilege escalation.

Recommended fix High confidence

macOS Sequoia 15.2

  1. Check the current macOS version by clicking the Apple menu and selecting About This Mac
  2. Ensure all important data is backed up before upgrading
  3. Upgrade to macOS Sequoia 15.2 or later by going to System Settings > General > Software Update
  4. Restart the system when prompted to complete the installation

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

Fix this in macOS 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

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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-2024-54515 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