CVE-2025-24115 in macOS
Summary
by MITRE • 01/28/2025
A path handling issue was addressed with improved validation. This issue is fixed in macOS Sequoia 15.3, macOS Sonoma 14.7.3, macOS Ventura 13.7.3. An app may be able to read files outside of its sandbox.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/08/2026
This vulnerability represents a critical path traversal flaw in apple's operating system that allows malicious applications to bypass sandbox restrictions and access files outside their designated boundaries. The issue stems from insufficient validation of file paths during application execution, creating a potential attack vector where sandboxed applications could manipulate file system access through carefully crafted path sequences. The vulnerability affects multiple versions of macos including sequoia 15.3, sonoma 14.7.3, and ventura 13.7.3, indicating a widespread impact across the apple ecosystem. This flaw directly relates to common weakness enumeration cwe-22, which describes improper limitation of a pathname to a restricted directory, commonly known as path traversal or directory traversal attacks. The security implications extend beyond simple file access, as this vulnerability could enable attackers to read sensitive system files, user data, or configuration information that should remain isolated within the sandbox environment. The fix implemented by apple involves enhanced validation mechanisms that properly sanitize and verify file paths before granting access, preventing malicious applications from exploiting directory traversal techniques to escape their designated sandbox boundaries.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends significantly into enterprise and personal security domains, as it undermines the fundamental security model of macos applications. Sandboxing is a core security feature designed to isolate applications from each other and from system resources, preventing unauthorized access to sensitive data. When an application can bypass these restrictions, it creates a potential pathway for data exfiltration, system reconnaissance, and privilege escalation attacks. This vulnerability particularly affects applications that handle user input or file operations, as these contexts provide the most opportunities for path manipulation attacks. The attack surface includes any application that processes file paths from external sources, including web browsers, document processors, and file management utilities. From an attack perspective, this flaw aligns with techniques described in the attack tree framework where adversaries can leverage path traversal vulnerabilities to gain unauthorized access to system resources. The vulnerability's exploitation typically requires an application to be running with sandboxed privileges, making it particularly dangerous in environments where users execute untrusted software or where applications handle sensitive data processing.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should focus on immediate system updates and enhanced monitoring of application behavior. Organizations should prioritize deployment of the latest macos versions that include the patched validation mechanisms, as these updates contain the necessary safeguards to prevent path traversal attacks. System administrators should implement monitoring solutions that track unusual file access patterns or attempts to access system directories from sandboxed applications, which can serve as early indicators of exploitation attempts. Additional defensive measures include implementing application whitelisting policies to restrict which applications can run on systems, and conducting regular security assessments to identify potentially vulnerable applications that may be running with elevated privileges. The fix addresses the root cause by implementing stricter path validation that ensures all file operations occur within the intended directory boundaries, preventing malicious manipulation of path resolution. Security teams should also consider implementing endpoint detection and response solutions that can identify and block suspicious path traversal attempts in real-time, providing an additional layer of protection beyond the operating system-level fixes. The vulnerability highlights the importance of maintaining up-to-date security patches and demonstrates how seemingly simple path handling issues can create significant security risks in sandboxed environments.