CVE-2025-24107 in iOS
Summary
by MITRE • 01/28/2025
A permissions issue was addressed with additional restrictions. This issue is fixed in iOS 18.3 and iPadOS 18.3, macOS Sequoia 15.3, tvOS 18.3, watchOS 11.3. A malicious app may be able to gain root privileges.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/08/2026
This vulnerability represents a critical permissions flaw that could enable malicious applications to escalate privileges to root level access on affected Apple operating systems. The issue stems from insufficient access controls and security boundaries that allow unauthorized applications to bypass normal permission restrictions. According to Apple's security advisory, the flaw exists in the underlying system frameworks that manage application sandboxing and privilege escalation mechanisms. The vulnerability affects multiple Apple platforms including iOS, iPadOS, macOS, tvOS, and watchOS, indicating a systemic issue within Apple's security architecture that impacts their entire ecosystem. This type of vulnerability directly violates the principle of least privilege and could potentially allow attackers to compromise entire devices through seemingly benign applications.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability likely involves improper validation of application permissions or flawed privilege checking mechanisms within the operating system kernel or system frameworks. Attackers could exploit this weakness by crafting malicious applications that leverage the insufficient restrictions to gain elevated privileges. The vulnerability's classification aligns with CWE-276 which addresses improper permissions and access control issues. Security researchers have identified that the flaw enables privilege escalation attacks that could allow malicious actors to bypass system security controls and execute code with root privileges. This represents a significant concern for enterprise environments where device security is paramount and could potentially lead to full system compromise.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond individual device compromise to potentially affect large-scale deployments and enterprise security postures. Organizations relying on Apple devices for business operations face elevated risk of data breaches and unauthorized access to sensitive corporate information. The vulnerability could enable attackers to install persistent backdoors, exfiltrate data, or manipulate system configurations without detection. From an attack framework perspective, this vulnerability would map to multiple ATT&CK techniques including privilege escalation and persistence mechanisms. The fact that the issue affects multiple Apple platforms suggests that attackers could potentially develop cross-platform exploits, increasing the attack surface and making mitigation more complex. Security teams would need to implement immediate patch management procedures across all affected platforms to prevent exploitation.
Mitigation strategies should prioritize immediate deployment of the security updates released by Apple, specifically iOS 18.3, iPadOS 18.3, macOS Sequoia 15.3, tvOS 18.3, and watchOS 11.3. Organizations should also implement enhanced monitoring for suspicious application behavior and privilege escalation attempts on their managed devices. Network security teams should consider implementing additional controls such as application whitelisting and mobile device management policies to limit the potential impact of compromised devices. The vulnerability highlights the importance of maintaining up-to-date security patches and demonstrates the critical nature of timely vulnerability remediation in enterprise environments. Security professionals should also conduct thorough risk assessments to determine if any devices within their environment may have been compromised before the patches were deployed, as the vulnerability could have enabled persistent access to systems.