CVE-2024-27798 in macOS
Summary
by MITRE • 05/14/2024
An authorization issue was addressed with improved state management. This issue is fixed in macOS Monterey 12.7.5, macOS Sonoma 14.5, macOS Ventura 13.6.7. An attacker may be able to elevate privileges.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/03/2026
This vulnerability represents a critical authorization flaw that enables potential privilege escalation on Apple operating systems. The issue stems from inadequate state management within the system's authorization mechanisms, creating opportunities for malicious actors to bypass security controls and gain elevated system privileges. The vulnerability affects multiple macOS versions including Monterey 12.7.5, Sonoma 14.5, and Ventura 13.6.7, indicating a widespread impact across the Apple ecosystem. From a cybersecurity perspective, this flaw aligns with CWE-284, which addresses improper access control issues in software systems. The authorization problem manifests when the system fails to properly maintain or validate the state of user sessions and privilege levels, allowing unauthorized code execution with elevated permissions.
The operational impact of CVE-2024-27798 extends beyond simple privilege escalation, potentially enabling attackers to execute arbitrary code with system-level privileges. This vulnerability can be exploited through various attack vectors that manipulate the system's authorization state, such as exploiting race conditions or manipulating session tokens. Security professionals should consider this issue in relation to ATT&CK technique T1068, which covers local privilege escalation, and T1548.001, focusing on abuse of system privileges. The flaw's presence in multiple macOS versions suggests a fundamental issue in the operating system's privilege management architecture, potentially affecting enterprise environments where these systems are deployed. Organizations running affected macOS versions face heightened risk of data breaches, system compromise, and unauthorized access to sensitive information.
Mitigation strategies should prioritize immediate patch deployment across all affected macOS versions to address the underlying state management issues. System administrators should implement comprehensive monitoring for unusual privilege escalation attempts and maintain strict access controls to prevent exploitation. The fix addresses the root cause by improving how the system manages authorization states, ensuring proper validation and enforcement of user privileges. Security teams should conduct thorough vulnerability assessments to identify any potential exploitation attempts and implement network segmentation to limit the impact of successful attacks. Organizations should also review their incident response procedures to ensure readiness for privilege escalation events and consider implementing additional security controls such as application whitelisting and enhanced logging mechanisms. The resolution of this vulnerability demonstrates Apple's commitment to addressing authorization flaws, though organizations must remain vigilant against similar issues that may emerge in other system components or third-party applications.