CVE-2024-54510 in iOS
Summary
by MITRE • 12/12/2024
A race condition was addressed with improved locking. This issue is fixed in iOS 18.2 and iPadOS 18.2, iPadOS 17.7.3, macOS Sequoia 15.2, macOS Sonoma 14.7.2, macOS Ventura 13.7.2, tvOS 18.2, watchOS 11.2. An app may be able to leak sensitive kernel state.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/08/2026
This vulnerability represents a race condition that existed within Apple's operating systems, specifically affecting iOS, iPadOS, macOS, tvOS, and watchOS versions prior to their respective security updates. The flaw emerged from insufficient synchronization mechanisms during concurrent access to kernel resources, creating a window where multiple processes or threads could interfere with each other's operations. Such race conditions typically occur when multiple execution paths attempt to access shared resources without proper mutual exclusion controls, leading to unpredictable behavior and potential security implications.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from inadequate locking mechanisms within the kernel's memory management and resource allocation subsystems. When multiple threads or processes attempted to access kernel state simultaneously, the system's locking protocol failed to prevent concurrent access, potentially allowing an attacker-controlled application to observe or manipulate kernel data structures. This particular race condition could enable an application to leak sensitive kernel state information, which might include memory addresses, kernel data structures, or other confidential information that could be exploited for privilege escalation or further attack vectors.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple information disclosure, as the leaked kernel state could provide attackers with crucial insights into the system's internal workings. This information leakage could facilitate more sophisticated attacks such as kernel exploitation, bypassing of security controls, or crafting of targeted attacks that leverage the leaked information. The vulnerability affects a broad range of Apple's ecosystem, including mobile devices, tablets, desktop computers, and smart TVs, making it particularly concerning from a security perspective. Attackers could potentially exploit this flaw through malicious applications that manipulate the timing of concurrent operations to trigger the race condition and capture sensitive kernel information.
Apple addressed this issue by implementing improved locking mechanisms that ensure proper synchronization when accessing kernel resources. The fix involved strengthening the mutual exclusion protocols within the kernel's memory management subsystem, preventing concurrent access that could lead to state leakage. The security updates released for iOS 18.2, iPadOS 18.2, macOS Sequoia 15.2, and other affected versions demonstrate Apple's proactive approach to addressing timing-based vulnerabilities. This remediation aligns with best practices for race condition mitigation and follows principles outlined in the CWE (Common Weakness Enumeration) catalog, specifically CWE-362 which addresses race conditions in concurrent programming. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability could map to techniques involving privilege escalation and information gathering, as the leaked kernel state could be used to bypass security controls and gather intelligence for further exploitation. Organizations should prioritize applying these security updates across all affected systems to prevent potential exploitation and maintain the integrity of their Apple-based environments.