dbcve.org
Ipad OsOperating system · Apple

CVE-2025-24203

MEDIUM · 5.0 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 →
50/100
Remediation priority · Moderate

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
The issue was addressed with improved checks. This issue is fixed in iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4, iPadOS 17.7.6, macOS Sequoia 15.4, macOS Sonoma 14.7.5, macOS Ventura 13.7.5, tvOS 18.4, visionOS 2.4, watchOS 11.4. 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 vulnerability in Apple's file system protection mechanisms allowed a malicious application to modify protected parts of the file system that should be restricted. The fix involved implementing improved checks to enforce proper file system access controls.

MitigationApply the vendor-supplied security updates: iOS 18.4/iPadOS 18.4 or 17.7.6, macOS Sequoia 15.4/Sonoma 14.7.5/Ventura 13.7.5, tvOS 18.4, visionOS 2.4, or watchOS 11.4 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
Ipad OsOperating system
Affected:< 17.7.6
macOSOperating system
Affected:>= 13.0, < 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
Low
User interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
High
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/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. Check macOS version
    Run 'sw_vers -productVersion' in Terminal to get the exact macOS version number
    Affected if The version is 13.0 to 13.7.4, 14.0 to 14.7.4, or 15.0 to 15.3 (falls within the vulnerable ranges)
  2. Check iPadOS version
    Go to Settings > General > About on the iPad to view the iPadOS version
    Affected if The version is earlier than 17.7.6 (falls within the vulnerable range)
  3. Verify System Integrity Protection status on macOS
    Run 'csrutil status' in Terminal. SIP is a core file system protection that, if disabled, could leave the system vulnerable to the bypass described in this CVE
    Affected if SIP is reported as disabled (this indicates the protection mechanism is not active)
  4. Check for unauthorized file system modifications
    Run 'ls -lO /System/Library/Sandbox/DefaultSystemPolicy 2>/dev/null' to inspect the root system directory for any unexpected permission changes or modifications to protected system files
    Affected if There are unexpected changes to system file permissions or ownership in protected directories

You are affected if your macOS version is 13.0-13.7.4, 14.0-14.7.4, or 15.0-15.3, or your iPadOS version is before 17.7.6, and SIP (on macOS) is disabled or shows signs of 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 vendor-supplied security updates: iOS 18.4/iPadOS 18.4 or 17.7.6, macOS Sequoia 15.4/Sonoma 14.7.5/Ventura 13.7.5, tvOS 18.4, visionOS 2.4, or watchOS 11.4 depending on the affected device.

Recommended fix High confidence

iPadOS 17.7.6 or later; macOS Ventura 13.7.5, macOS Sonoma 14.7.5, or macOS Sequoia 15.4

  1. For iPad: Go to Settings > General > Software Update and upgrade to iPadOS 17.7.6 (or iPadOS 18.4 if supported)
  2. For macOS Ventura (13.x): Go to System Settings > General > Software Update and upgrade to macOS Ventura 13.7.5
  3. For macOS Sonoma (14.x): Go to System Settings > General > Software Update and upgrade to macOS Sonoma 14.7.5
  4. For macOS Sequoia (15.x): Go to System Settings > General > Software Update and upgrade to macOS Sequoia 15.4
  5. Alternatively, use Terminal: sudo softwareupdate -i 'macOS Sequoia 15.4' or the appropriate version for your system
Caveat Standard OS update; review release notes for any feature changes

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

Fix this in Ipad Os 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
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,560.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-24203 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2025-24203 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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