dbcve.org
IpadosOperating system · Apple

CVE-2024-54538

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-12-20
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 2.1 / 11.1 or later.
See remediation →
84/100
Remediation priority · High
Remotely reachable No privileges 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 denial-of-service issue was addressed with improved input validation. This issue is fixed in iOS 17.7.1 and iPadOS 17.7.1, iOS 18.1 and iPadOS 18.1, macOS Sequoia 15.1, macOS Sonoma 14.7.1, macOS Ventura 13.7.1, tvOS 18.1, visionOS 2.1, watchOS 11.1. A remote attacker may be able to cause a denial-of-service.

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 denial-of-service vulnerability in Apple operating systems that was addressed with improved input validation. A remote attacker can cause a DoS condition, likely by sending specially crafted input to a vulnerable component.

MitigationApply the available security updates: iOS 17.7.1 and iPadOS 17.7.1, iOS 18.1 and iPadOS 18.1, macOS Sequoia 15.1, macOS Sonoma 14.7.1, macOS Ventura 13.7.1, tvOS 18.1, visionOS 2.1, or watchOS 11.1 depending on the affected device.

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
IpadosOperating system
Affected:< 17.7.1>= 18.0, < 18.1
Iphone OsOperating system
Affected:< 17.7.1>= 18.0, < 18.1
macOSOperating system
Affected:>= 13.0, < 13.7.1>= 14.0, < 14.7.1
TvosOperating system
Affected:< 18.1
VisionosOperating system
Affected:< 2.1
WatchosOperating system
Affected:< 11.1

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
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/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 your Apple device type
    Determine whether the device is an iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, Apple Watch, or Apple Vision Pro. This is necessary because version ranges differ by device category.
    Affected if The device falls into any of the affected categories (iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, Apple Vision Pro, or Apple Watch).
  2. Check iOS or iPadOS version on iPhone or iPad
    Open Settings > General > About > Version to view the installed iOS or iPadOS version number.
    Affected if The version is less than 17.7.1, or is 18.0 or higher but less than 18.1.
  3. Check macOS version on Mac
    Open System Settings > About, or run 'sw_vers' in Terminal, to view the installed macOS version.
    Affected if The version is 13.0 or higher but less than 13.7.1, or 14.0 or higher but less than 14.7.1.
  4. Check tvOS version on Apple TV
    Open Settings > General > About > Version to view the installed tvOS version number.
    Affected if The version is less than 18.1.
  5. Check watchOS version on Apple Watch
    Open Settings > General > About > Version on the watch, or open the Watch app on iPhone and check About.
    Affected if The version is less than 11.1.
  6. Check visionOS version on Apple Vision Pro
    Open Settings > General > About > Version to view the installed visionOS version number.
    Affected if The version is less than 2.1.

You are affected if your device is running any version of iOS, iPadOS, macOS, tvOS, watchOS, or visionOS that falls within the vulnerable ranges listed for your device type.

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 2.1 / 11.1 / 13.7.1 or later
Fixed in 2.111.113.7.1
Interim mitigation

Apply the available security updates: iOS 17.7.1 and iPadOS 17.7.1, iOS 18.1 and iPadOS 18.1, macOS Sequoia 15.1, macOS Sonoma 14.7.1, macOS Ventura 13.7.1, tvOS 18.1, visionOS 2.1, or watchOS 11.1 depending on the affected device.

Recommended fix High confidence

iOS 17.7.1/iPadOS 17.7.1, iOS 18.1/iPadOS 18.1, macOS Ventura 13.7.1/macOS Sonoma 14.7.1/macOS Sequoia 15.1, tvOS 18.1, visionOS 2.1, or watchOS 11.1 depending on device type

  1. Identify the Apple device type (iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, Vision Pro, or Apple Watch)
  2. Determine the current installed OS version via Settings > General > About (iOS/iPadOS/watchOS/visionOS) or System Settings/About (macOS/tvOS)
  3. For iPhone or iPad: Update to iOS 17.7.1 or iOS 18.1 and iPadOS 17.7.1 or iPadOS 18.1 via Settings > General > Software Update
  4. For Mac: Update to macOS Ventura 13.7.1, macOS Sonoma 14.7.1, or macOS Sequoia 15.1 via System Settings > General > Software Update
  5. For Apple TV: Update to tvOS 18.1 via Settings > General > Apple TV Software Updates
  6. For Vision Pro: Update to visionOS 2.1 via Settings > General > Software Update
  7. For Apple Watch: Update to watchOS 11.1 via the Watch app on iPhone > General > Software Update
  8. After update, verify the fix by confirming the device runs the target version
Caveat Standard point releases typically have minimal breaking changes; verify critical apps are compatible before updating production devices

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

Fix this in Ipados Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
9.0 hours of engineering $1,600
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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-2024-54538 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