macOSOperating system · Apple

CVE-2025-24120

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-01-27
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 13.7.3 / 14.7.3 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
This issue was addressed by improved management of object lifetimes. This issue is fixed in macOS Sequoia 15.3, macOS Sonoma 14.7.3, macOS Ventura 13.7.3. An attacker may be able to cause unexpected app termination.

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 memory management vulnerability in macOS stemming from improper object lifetime handling allows a remote attacker to cause unexpected application termination (denial of service). The issue is exploitable over the network with low complexity, leading to application crashes.

MitigationApply the macOS security updates: Sequoia 15.3, Sonoma 14.7.3, or Ventura 13.7.3 depending on the installed macOS version.

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:< 13.7.3>= 14.0, < 14.7.3>= 15.0, < 15.3

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 macOS version
    Run 'sw_vers -productVersion' in Terminal to retrieve the installed macOS version number
    Affected if The version is less than 13.7.3, OR between 14.0 and 14.7.2 inclusive, OR between 15.0 and 15.2 inclusive
  2. Confirm full version string
    Run 'system_profiler SPSoftwareDataType' and look for the System Version entry to confirm the exact macOS release (e.g., Ventura 13.7, Sonoma 14.7.2, Sequoia 15.2)
    Affected if The specific release number falls within any of the vulnerable ranges listed above
  3. Verify patch state
    Check Apple Security Updates (apple.com/support/security) for the installed macOS release to confirm whether the fix (Ventura 13.7.3, Sonoma 14.7.3, or Sequoia 15.3) has been applied
    Affected if The installed version does not match or exceed the fixed releases for the respective macOS generation

The environment is affected if the running macOS version is below 13.7.3, between 14.0-14.7.2, or between 15.0-15.2; otherwise it is not affected.

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 13.7.3 / 14.7.3 / 15.3 or later
Fixed in 13.7.314.7.315.3
Interim mitigation

Apply the macOS security updates: Sequoia 15.3, Sonoma 14.7.3, or Ventura 13.7.3 depending on the installed macOS version.

Recommended fix High confidence

macOS Ventura 13.7.3 / macOS Sonoma 14.7.3 / macOS Sequoia 15.3 (depending on current version)

  1. Check the currently installed macOS version by clicking the Apple menu and selecting 'About This Mac'
  2. If running macOS Ventura (13.x), upgrade to version 13.7.3 or later
  3. If running macOS Sonoma (14.x), upgrade to version 14.7.3 or later
  4. If running macOS Sequoia (15.x), upgrade to version 15.3 or later
  5. To upgrade, go to System Settings > General > Software Update and install the available update
  6. Restart the system after the update is installed
Caveat Standard macOS point release upgrade - minimal risk, but always backup important data before system updates

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

Fix this in macOS Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,060
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,696.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

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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-2025-24120 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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