CVE-2025-24224: Remote Attacker Can Cause System Termination on Apple Devices
A vulnerability in Apple devices could allow a remote attacker to cause unexpected system termination. Apple has released updates to address this issue.
Vulnerability Details
- CVE ID: CVE-2025-24224
- Description: The issue was addressed with improved checks. A remote attacker may be able to cause unexpected system termination.
- CVSS Score: 7.5 HIGH
- CVSS Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
- CVSS Explanation: This CVSS vector indicates a high severity vulnerability. It is remotely exploitable (AV:N) with low complexity (AC:L), requires no privileges (PR:N) or user interaction (UI:N), and results in a complete denial of service (A:H). An attacker can remotely crash the system without any authentication or user interaction.
- Affected Vendor: Apple
- Affected Products: tvOS, iOS and iPadOS, macOS Sequoia, watchOS, visionOS, macOS Ventura
- Affected Versions:
- tvOS before 18.5
- iOS and iPadOS before 18.5
- iPadOS before 17.7.9
- macOS Sequoia before 15.5
- watchOS before 11.5
- visionOS before 2.5
- macOS Ventura before 13.7.7
- CWE: CWE-754 - Improper Handling of Exceptional Conditions. This means the system doesn't properly manage unexpected events, leading to a crash.
Timeline of Events
- 2025-07-30: CVE Published and Patches Released
Exploitability & Real-World Risk
Due to the nature of the vulnerability, a successful exploit can lead to a denial-of-service condition, causing the affected Apple device to terminate unexpectedly. This could be triggered by a specially crafted network request. While the exact technical details aren't public, the high CVSS score and the ability to trigger this remotely without user interaction suggest a significant risk. In a real-world scenario, this could be used to disrupt critical services, cause frustration for users, or potentially be chained with other exploits for more severe attacks.
Recommendations
- Update your Apple devices immediately: Install the latest versions of tvOS, iOS, iPadOS, macOS Sequoia, watchOS, visionOS, and macOS Ventura.
- Keep your devices updated: Enable automatic updates to ensure you receive the latest security patches promptly.
Technical Insight
The vulnerability stems from improper handling of exceptional conditions within the affected Apple software. Improved checks have been implemented to prevent a remote attacker from triggering a system termination. Without more specifics from Apple, we can only speculate on the exact nature of the flaw, but it likely involves a malformed input or unexpected state that the system fails to handle gracefully.
Credit to Researcher(s)
Apple has not publicly credited any specific researcher(s) for this vulnerability in the provided information.
References
- tvOS 18.5
- iOS 18.5 and iPadOS 18.5
- iPadOS 17.7.9
- macOS Sequoia 15.5
- watchOS 11.5
- visionOS 2.5
- macOS Ventura 13.7.7
Tags
CVE-2025-24224, Apple, Remote Termination, Denial of Service, tvOS, iOS, macOS, watchOS, visionOS
Summary: CVE-2025-24224 is a high-severity vulnerability in Apple devices that allows a remote attacker to cause unexpected system termination. Apple has released updates to address this issue, affecting tvOS, iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, and visionOS.
CVE ID: CVE-2025-24224
Risk Analysis: Denial-of-service condition, causing affected Apple devices to terminate unexpectedly, disrupting services and frustrating users.
Recommendation: Update to the latest versions of tvOS, iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, and visionOS. Enable automatic updates.
Timeline
- 2025-07-30: CVE Published and Patches Released