CVE-2024-54520 in macOS
Summary
by MITRE • 01/28/2025
A path handling issue was addressed with improved validation. This issue is fixed in macOS Sequoia 15.2, macOS Sonoma 14.7.2, macOS Ventura 13.7.2. An app may be able to overwrite arbitrary files.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/08/2026
This vulnerability represents a critical path handling flaw that enables malicious applications to overwrite arbitrary files on affected systems. The issue stems from insufficient validation of file paths during application operations, creating a potential attack vector where an unprivileged process could manipulate file system access through carefully crafted path sequences. The vulnerability affects multiple versions of apple's operating system including macos sequoia 15.2, macos sonoma 14.7.2, and macos ventura 13.7.2, indicating a widespread impact across the apple ecosystem. The flaw falls under the category of improper input validation and can be classified as a path traversal vulnerability according to cwe standards.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability allows an application to bypass normal file system access controls by exploiting weak path validation mechanisms. When applications process user-supplied or system-generated file paths, they fail to properly sanitize or validate the input, enabling attackers to construct malicious path sequences that can target files outside of intended directories. This type of vulnerability can be exploited through various attack vectors including malicious file operations, symlink manipulation, or direct path injection attacks. The vulnerability's impact extends beyond simple file overwrites to potentially enable privilege escalation or data corruption scenarios.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is significant for system administrators and security practitioners who must consider the potential for unauthorized file modifications across the affected macos versions. Attackers could leverage this weakness to overwrite critical system files, user data, or application configuration files, potentially leading to system instability, data loss, or further compromise of the affected systems. The vulnerability's exploitation requires minimal privileges and can be automated, making it particularly dangerous in environments where multiple applications have file system access. This issue aligns with attack techniques documented in the attack tree framework where path traversal represents a common entry point for file system based attacks.
Organizations should prioritize immediate patching of affected systems to mitigate this vulnerability, ensuring that all macos installations are updated to the patched versions mentioned in the advisory. System administrators should also implement monitoring for unusual file system access patterns and consider restricting file system permissions for applications that do not require broad file access. Additional mitigations include implementing application sandboxing controls, monitoring for suspicious path operations, and conducting regular security assessments of file system access controls. The vulnerability's resolution through official apple updates demonstrates the importance of maintaining current system patches and following vendor security advisories to protect against known exploitation vectors.