dbcve.org
IpadosOperating system · Apple

CVE-2025-24159

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-01-27
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 2.3 / 11.3 or later.
See remediation →
81/100
Remediation priority · High
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 validation issue was addressed with improved logic. This issue is fixed in iOS 18.3 and iPadOS 18.3, iPadOS 17.7.4, macOS Sequoia 15.3, macOS Sonoma 14.7.3, tvOS 18.3, visionOS 2.3, watchOS 11.3. An app may be able to execute arbitrary code with kernel 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 kernel-level validation vulnerability affecting multiple Apple operating systems (iOS, iPadOS, macOS, tvOS, visionOS, watchOS). An application can exploit insufficient validation logic to escalate privileges and execute arbitrary code with kernel privileges, granting the attacker complete system control.

MitigationApply the vendor-supplied patches (iOS 18.3, iPadOS 18.3/17.7.4, macOS Sequoia 15.3/Sonoma 14.7.3, tvOS 18.3, visionOS 2.3, watchOS 11.3) to affected devices as soon as feasible.

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:< 17.7.4>= 18.0, < 18.3
Iphone OsOperating system
Affected:< 18.3
macOSOperating system
Affected:< 14.7.3>= 15.0, < 15.3
TvosOperating system
Affected:< 18.3
VisionosOperating system
Affected:< 2.3
WatchosOperating system
Affected:< 11.3

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/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. Check iOS version on iPhone
    Open Settings > General > About > Version, or run 'sw_vers -productVersion' in terminal if available
    Affected if Version is less than 18.3 (or less than 17.7.4 for iOS 17.x)
  2. Check iPadOS version on iPad
    Open Settings > General > About > Version, or run 'sw_vers -productVersion' in terminal if available
    Affected if Version is less than 17.7.4, or greater than or equal to 18.0 but less than 18.3
  3. Check macOS version
    Open System Settings > About, or run 'sw_vers -productVersion' in Terminal
    Affected if Version is less than 14.7.3, or greater than or equal to 15.0 but less than 15.3
  4. Check tvOS version
    Open Settings > General > About > Version on Apple TV, or use system_profiler SPSoftwareDataType
    Affected if Version is less than 18.3
  5. Check visionOS version
    Open Settings > General > About on Apple Vision Pro
    Affected if Version is less than 2.3
  6. Check watchOS version
    Open Settings > General > About on Apple Watch, or check via paired iPhone's Watch app under My Watch > General > About
    Affected if Version is less than 11.3

The device is affected if its operating system version falls within any of the vulnerable ranges: iOS < 18.3 (or < 17.7.4), iPadOS < 17.7.4 or >= 18.0 and < 18.3, macOS < 14.7.3 or >= 15.0 and < 15.3, tvOS < 18.3, visionOS < 2.3, or watchOS < 11.3

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 2.3 / 11.3 / 14.7.3 or later
Fixed in 2.311.314.7.3
Interim mitigation

Apply the vendor-supplied patches (iOS 18.3, iPadOS 18.3/17.7.4, macOS Sequoia 15.3/Sonoma 14.7.3, tvOS 18.3, visionOS 2.3, watchOS 11.3) to affected devices as soon as feasible.

Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to iOS 18.3/iPadOS 17.7.4 or later, macOS 14.7.3/15.3 or later, tvOS 18.3 or later, visionOS 2.3 or later, watchOS 11.3 or later

  1. Identify the current version of the Apple device OS (iOS, iPadOS, macOS, tvOS, visionOS, or watchOS)
  2. Back up all important data on the device
  3. For iPhone/iPad: Go to Settings > General > Software Update and install the appropriate update (iOS 18.3, iPadOS 17.7.4, or iPadOS 18.3)
  4. For Mac: Go to System Settings > General > Software Update and install macOS 14.7.3 (Sonoma) or macOS 15.3 (Sequoia)
  5. For Apple TV: Go to Settings > System > Software Updates and install tvOS 18.3
  6. For Apple Vision Pro: Go to Settings > General > Software Update and install visionOS 2.3
  7. For Apple Watch: On iPhone, open Watch app, go to My Watch > General > Software Update and install watchOS 11.3
  8. Restart the device after the update completes
Caveat Standard OS update risks apply - ensure backup before updating; some older apps may become incompatible

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

Fix this in Ipados Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation8.0 h
  • Implementation16.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
36.0 hours of engineering $6,400
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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-2025-24159 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