CVE-2025-24229 in macOS
Summary
by MITRE • 04/01/2025
A logic issue was addressed with improved checks. This issue is fixed in macOS Ventura 13.7.5, macOS Sequoia 15.4, macOS Sonoma 14.7.5. A sandboxed app may be able to access sensitive user data.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/07/2025
This vulnerability represents a sandbox escape condition that allows sandboxed applications to access sensitive user data through a logic flaw in the operating system's security model. The issue stems from inadequate validation mechanisms that fail to properly enforce sandbox boundaries, creating a potential pathway for unauthorized data access. The vulnerability affects multiple macOS versions including Ventura 13.7.5, Sequoia 15.4, and Sonoma 14.7.5, indicating a widespread impact across the operating system's ecosystem. The security implications extend beyond simple data access, as this flaw could potentially enable broader system compromise through information disclosure.
The technical root cause involves insufficient input validation and boundary checking within the sandbox implementation, allowing malicious or compromised applications to bypass intended security restrictions. This logic issue creates a gap in the security model where sandboxed processes can access user data that should remain protected by the sandboxing mechanism. The vulnerability classification aligns with CWE-252, which addresses insufficient validation of security checks, and represents a failure in the principle of least privilege enforcement. Attackers could exploit this weakness to gather sensitive information such as personal documents, credentials, or other user data that should be isolated within the sandbox environment.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is significant as it undermines the fundamental security assumptions of the sandboxing architecture. Sandboxed applications are designed to operate with limited privileges and restricted access to user data, but this flaw allows them to circumvent these protections. The potential for data exfiltration increases substantially, as attackers could develop applications that leverage this vulnerability to access and transmit sensitive user information. This weakness particularly affects enterprise environments where users may run multiple applications that rely on sandboxing for security isolation, and could enable advanced persistent threats to escalate privileges and access additional system resources.
Mitigation strategies should focus on immediate deployment of the available security updates for macOS Ventura 13.7.5, macOS Sequoia 15.4, and macOS Sonoma 14.7.5, which contain the necessary patches to address the logic flaw. System administrators should also implement additional monitoring for unusual application behavior and data access patterns that could indicate exploitation attempts. Organizations should review their application deployment policies to ensure that only trusted applications are granted sandboxed execution privileges. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to techniques involving privilege escalation and credential access, and should be monitored as part of broader threat hunting activities. The fix addresses the underlying sandbox enforcement mechanisms, restoring proper isolation between applications and user data, and should be prioritized in security update schedules to prevent potential exploitation.