CVE-2024-27874 is a vulnerability identified in Apple’s iOS and iPadOS operating systems that allows a remote attacker to cause a denial-of-service condition by exploiting improper state management within the affected systems. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-400 (Uncontrolled Resource Consumption), indicating that the flaw can be triggered to exhaust system resources, leading to service disruption. The issue does not require any privileges or user interaction, making it remotely exploitable over the network without authentication. The exact affected versions are unspecified, but the vulnerability is addressed in iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 through improved state management mechanisms. The CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.5 reflects a high severity, primarily due to the potential impact on confidentiality, which is rated as high, while integrity and availability impacts are rated none in the CVSS vector. However, the description of a denial-of-service suggests availability impact, which may be a discrepancy or reflect the nature of the resource exhaustion affecting system responsiveness rather than outright service unavailability. No known exploits have been reported in the wild as of the publication date (September 16, 2024), but the vulnerability’s characteristics make it a credible threat. The vulnerability could be exploited by sending crafted network packets or requests to vulnerable devices, causing them to enter a state that depletes resources or crashes critical processes. This can disrupt normal device operation, potentially impacting users and services relying on these devices. The patch involves improved state management to prevent resource exhaustion and is included in the latest OS releases. Organizations should prioritize upgrading devices to iOS 18/iPadOS 18 to mitigate this risk. Additionally, monitoring network traffic for unusual patterns that could indicate exploitation attempts is advisable. Given the widespread use of Apple mobile devices in enterprise and government sectors, especially in Europe, this vulnerability poses a tangible risk to operational continuity.

For European organizations, the primary impact of CVE-2024-27874 is the potential for denial-of-service conditions on Apple iOS and iPadOS devices, which are widely used in corporate, governmental, and critical infrastructure environments. A successful exploit could disrupt mobile communications, access to enterprise applications, and other mobile-dependent workflows, leading to productivity loss and operational delays. The vulnerability’s remote and unauthenticated nature increases the risk of exploitation, especially in environments with exposed network interfaces or insufficient perimeter defenses. Confidentiality impact is noted as high in the CVSS vector, which may indicate potential indirect data exposure risks during the DoS condition or related system states. Disruptions could affect sectors reliant on mobile device availability, such as finance, healthcare, and public administration. Additionally, denial-of-service on mobile endpoints can complicate incident response and recovery efforts. The absence of known exploits currently provides a window for proactive mitigation, but the high severity score and ease of exploitation necessitate urgent attention. Failure to patch could expose organizations to targeted attacks or opportunistic exploitation by threat actors scanning for vulnerable devices.

1. Immediate upgrade of all Apple iOS and iPadOS devices to version 18 or later, where the vulnerability is fixed. 2. Implement network segmentation and restrict unnecessary inbound traffic to mobile devices, especially from untrusted networks. 3. Deploy intrusion detection and prevention systems (IDS/IPS) with signatures or heuristics to detect anomalous traffic patterns indicative of resource exhaustion attacks. 4. Monitor device logs and network traffic for signs of repeated crashes, resource depletion, or unusual connection attempts targeting iOS/iPadOS devices. 5. Enforce strict mobile device management (MDM) policies to ensure devices remain up to date and can be remotely managed for rapid patch deployment. 6. Educate users and administrators about the importance of timely updates and recognizing symptoms of device instability. 7. Coordinate with Apple support channels for any additional security advisories or mitigations. 8. Consider temporary network-level rate limiting or filtering of suspicious traffic to vulnerable devices until patches are fully deployed.