macOSOperating system · Apple

CVE-2025-24164

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-03-31
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 13.7.5 / 14.7.5 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 checks. This issue is fixed in macOS Sequoia 15.4, macOS Sonoma 14.7.5, macOS Ventura 13.7.5. An app may be able to modify protected parts of the file system.

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 logic flaw in macOS allowed a malicious or compromised application to bypass file system protections and modify restricted areas of the file system. This represents a privilege escalation vulnerability where an app could gain access beyond its intended sandbox or permissions.

MitigationApply the macOS security updates: upgrade to macOS Sequoia 15.4, Sonoma 14.7.5, or Ventura 13.7.5 depending on the current macOS version in use.

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:< 13.7.5>= 14.0, < 14.7.5>= 15.0, < 15.4

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
None
Integrity
High
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:H/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. Identify installed macOS version number
    Run 'sw_vers -productVersion' in Terminal or check System Settings > About > Version
    Affected if The version displayed is lower than the fixed version for your macOS release (13.7.5 for Ventura, 14.7.5 for Sonoma, 15.4 for Sequoia)
  2. Identify macOS release name
    Run 'sw_vers -productVersion' and note the major version number: 13.x = Ventura, 14.x = Sonoma, 15.x = Sequoia
    Affected if You are running any version of Ventura (13.x), Sonoma (14.x), or Sequoia (15.x) that is older than the respective fixed version
  3. Compare version against affected ranges
    Check if your version falls into: Ventura < 13.7.5, or Sonoma >= 14.0 and < 14.7.5, or Sequoia >= 15.0 and < 15.4
    Affected if Your current version matches any of these ranges, indicating the logic flaw is present

If the installed macOS version is below 13.7.5 (Ventura), below 14.7.5 (Sonoma), or below 15.4 (Sequoia), the environment is vulnerable to the file system protection bypass.

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 13.7.5 / 14.7.5 / 15.4 or later
Fixed in 13.7.514.7.515.4
Interim mitigation

Apply the macOS security updates: upgrade to macOS Sequoia 15.4, Sonoma 14.7.5, or Ventura 13.7.5 depending on the current macOS version in use.

Recommended fix High confidence

macOS Ventura 13.7.5, macOS Sonoma 14.7.5, or macOS Sequoia 15.4 (depending on your current macOS version)

  1. Open System Settings (or System Preferences on older macOS)
  2. Click on General in the sidebar
  3. Click on Software Update
  4. Wait for macOS to check for updates
  5. If an update is available, click Download and Install
  6. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation
  7. Restart your Mac when prompted to apply the security update
Caveat Standard macOS update - ensure backups exist before updating

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
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
5.0 hours of engineering $910
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,456.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-24164 — 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-2025-24164 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