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IpadosOperating system · Apple

CVE-2025-24221

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-03-31
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 2.4 / 17.7.6 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 with improved data access restriction. This issue is fixed in iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4, iPadOS 17.7.6, visionOS 2.4. Sensitive keychain data may be accessible from an iOS backup.

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 · high confidence

This vulnerability in iOS and iPadOS allows sensitive keychain data to be accessible from iOS backups, potentially exposing stored credentials, certificates, and other secrets. The issue stems from insufficient data access restrictions on backup files, enabling an attacker with access to a backup to extract sensitive keychain items.

MitigationUpdate affected devices to iOS 18.4, iPadOS 18.4, iPadOS 17.7.6, or visionOS 2.4. For enterprise environments, ensure backup files are stored securely and implement policies restricting backup access to trusted systems.

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:< 17.7.6>= 18.0, < 18.4
Iphone OsOperating system
Affected:< 18.4
VisionosOperating system
Affected:< 2.4

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/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 iOS or iPadOS version on the device
    Go to Settings > General > About and note the version number displayed (e.g., 18.3.1)
    Affected if The version is below 18.4 for iPhone, or below 17.7.6 / between 18.0-18.3.x for iPadOS
  2. Check visionOS version on Apple Vision device
    Go to Settings > General > About and note the version number displayed
    Affected if The version is below 2.4
  3. Determine if device backups are created
    Check if iCloud Backup is enabled (Settings > [your name] > iCloud > iCloud Backup) or if local computer backups are made via Finder or iTunes
    Affected if Device backups exist or are being created - the vulnerability affects backup extraction of keychain items
  4. Identify backup storage location
    For local backups, locate the backup folder on connected computers (on Mac: ~/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup/; on Windows: %appdata%\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup\)
    Affected if Backup files are present and accessible - an attacker with access to these files could extract keychain data

You are affected if your device runs iOS below 18.4, iPadOS below 17.7.6 or between 18.0-18.3.x, or visionOS below 2.4, and you create or store device backups.

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 2.4 / 17.7.6 / 18.4 or later
Fixed in 2.417.7.618.4
Interim mitigation

Update affected devices to iOS 18.4, iPadOS 18.4, iPadOS 17.7.6, or visionOS 2.4. For enterprise environments, ensure backup files are stored securely and implement policies restricting backup access to trusted systems.

Recommended fix High confidence

iOS 18.4 / iPadOS 18.4 / iPadOS 17.7.6 / visionOS 2.4 (depending on device)

  1. Back up your iOS device before applying any system updates
  2. Update iPhone to iOS 18.4 (or later) from Settings > General > Software Update
  3. Update iPad to iPadOS 18.4 (or later) from Settings > General > Software Update
  4. For iPadOS 17.x devices, update to iPadOS 17.7.6 (or later)
  5. For Apple Vision Pro, update to visionOS 2.4 (or later)
  6. After updating, verify the update was successful in Settings > General > About
Caveat Standard iOS update; review app compatibility for older applications after upgrade

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
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $10,240.

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-2025-24221 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