macOSOperating system · Apple

CVE-2024-54524

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-12-12
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 15.2 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
A logic issue was addressed with improved file handling. This issue is fixed in macOS Sequoia 15.2. A malicious app may be able to access arbitrary files.

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 · high confidence

A logic error in macOS Sequoia 15.1 and earlier allowed a malicious application to bypass file handling restrictions and access arbitrary files on the system through improper validation of file paths or sandbox enforcement logic.

MitigationApply the macOS Sequoia 15.2 security update to address the file handling logic flaw; verify that application sandboxing and file access controls are functioning as expected.

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:>= 15.0, < 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
None
User interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/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 installed macOS version
    Run 'sw_vers -productVersion' in Terminal to obtain the exact macOS version number
    Affected if Version is 15.0 or 15.1 (any 15.0.x through 15.1.x)
  2. Verify sandbox enforcement is configured
    Run 'sandbox-exec /bin/true' to test if sandboxing is active; check /System/Library/Sandbox directory for system sandbox profiles
    Affected if Sandbox profiles are present but can be bypassed due to the logic flaw in affected versions

The environment is affected if macOS Sequoia version 15.0 or 15.1 is installed, as the file handling logic flaw exists in these versions and allows sandbox bypass for arbitrary file 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 15.2 or later
Fixed in 15.2
Interim mitigation

Apply the macOS Sequoia 15.2 security update to address the file handling logic flaw; verify that application sandboxing and file access controls are functioning as expected.

Recommended fix High confidence

macOS Sequoia 15.2

  1. Back up your Mac using Time Machine or another backup solution before updating
  2. Connect your Mac to a power source to ensure uninterrupted update completion
  3. Open System Settings and navigate to General > Software Update
  4. Wait for macOS Sequoia 15.2 to appear in the available updates
  5. Click 'Update Now' or 'Upgrade Now' to begin the installation
  6. Follow the on-screen instructions and restart your Mac when prompted
  7. After the update completes, verify the installation by checking System Settings > General > About > macOS Version shows 15.2
Caveat Standard macOS security update with no major breaking changes expected for typical users

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

Fix this in macOS Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
5.0 hours of engineering $860
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,376.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2024-54524 — 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-2024-54524 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