CVE-2024-23217 is a privacy vulnerability affecting Apple iOS and iPadOS platforms, as well as macOS Sonoma and watchOS, that allows an app to bypass certain privacy preferences. The root cause relates to improper handling of temporary files, which could enable an application to circumvent user-configured privacy settings. This vulnerability is categorized under CWE-922, which involves improper restriction of operations within the bounds of a memory buffer, indicating that the flaw may be related to how temporary files are managed and accessed. The issue was addressed by Apple in updates macOS Sonoma 14.3, watchOS 10.3, iOS 17.3, and iPadOS 17.3, which improved the handling of temporary files to enforce privacy preferences correctly. The CVSS v3.1 base score is 3.3, indicating a low severity level. The vector string (AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N) shows that the attack requires local access (AV:L), low attack complexity (AC:L), no privileges (PR:N), user interaction (UI:R), and impacts confidentiality only slightly (C:L), with no impact on integrity or availability. No known exploits are currently reported in the wild. The vulnerability's exploitation would require an attacker to have local access to the device and trick the user into interacting with a malicious app, which then could bypass some privacy restrictions, potentially exposing limited confidential information. However, the impact is limited and does not affect system integrity or availability.

For European organizations, the impact of CVE-2024-23217 is generally low but should not be dismissed, especially for entities handling sensitive personal or corporate data on Apple mobile devices. The vulnerability could allow malicious apps to bypass privacy controls, potentially exposing limited confidential information stored or processed on iOS or iPadOS devices. This could lead to privacy violations, data leakage, or unauthorized data collection, which may conflict with strict European data protection regulations such as GDPR. Organizations with bring-your-own-device (BYOD) policies or those deploying iOS/iPadOS devices for sensitive communications or data processing should be aware of this risk. However, since exploitation requires local access and user interaction, the threat surface is limited to scenarios where an attacker can convince a user to install and run a malicious app. The vulnerability does not affect system integrity or availability, so it is unlikely to cause operational disruptions or system compromise. Nonetheless, privacy breaches can have reputational and compliance consequences for European organizations.

1. Promptly apply the security updates released by Apple: macOS Sonoma 14.3, watchOS 10.3, iOS 17.3, and iPadOS 17.3, as these contain the fix for this vulnerability. 2. Enforce strict app installation policies, limiting installations to trusted sources such as the Apple App Store and using Mobile Device Management (MDM) solutions to control app deployment. 3. Educate users about the risks of installing untrusted applications and the importance of scrutinizing app permissions and privacy prompts to reduce the likelihood of social engineering attacks. 4. Monitor device compliance and privacy settings regularly to detect any anomalies or unauthorized changes that could indicate exploitation attempts. 5. For organizations with sensitive data, consider additional endpoint protection solutions that can detect suspicious app behavior or attempts to bypass privacy controls. 6. Implement network-level controls to restrict device communication to trusted networks and services, reducing the risk of data exfiltration if privacy controls are bypassed.