CVE-2024-40776VulnerabilityPublished 29 Jul 2024Updated 2 Apr 2026

CVE-2024-40776: Apple Safari · Processing maliciously crafted web content may lead to an unexpected process crash

Affects Apple SafariSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 6.5 Medium · fixed in 17.6 : update Apple Safari when convenient.

Data as of 25 Oct 2026, 19:02 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

6.5Medium

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

EPSS: 1.0% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 62% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch: Available – fixed in 17.6

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Attack Vector: Network
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: Required
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality: None
Integrity: None
Availability: High

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Network: The vulnerable component is bound to the network stack and the set of possible attackers extends beyond the other options listed, up to and including the entire Internet. Such a vulnerability is often termed 'remotely exploitable' and can be thought of as an attack being exploitable at the protocol level one or more network hops away (e.g., across one or more routers).
Attack Complexity: Low: Specialized access conditions or extenuating circumstances do not exist. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable component.
Privileges Required: None: The attacker is unauthorized prior to attack, and therefore does not require any access to settings or files to carry out an attack.
User Interaction: Required: Successful exploitation of this vulnerability requires a user to take some action before the vulnerability can be exploited.
Scope: Unchanged: An exploited vulnerability can only affect resources managed by the same security authority. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are either the same, or both are managed by the same security authority.
Confidentiality: None: There is no loss of confidentiality within the impacted component.
Integrity: None: There is no loss of integrity within the impacted component.
Availability: High: There is total loss of availability, resulting in the attacker being able to fully deny access to resources in the impacted component; this loss is either sustained (while the attacker continues to deliver the attack) or persistent (the condition persists even after the attack has completed). Alternatively, the attacker has the ability to deny some availability, but the loss of availability presents a direct, serious consequence to the impacted component (e.g., the attacker cannot disrupt existing connections, but can prevent new connections; the attacker can repeatedly exploit a vulnerability that, in each instance of a successful attack, leaks a only small amount of memory, but after repeated exploitation causes a service to become completely unavailable).

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 29 Jul 2024
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 2026-10-25.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponised: Public exploit code exists in Metasploit or Exploit-DB, or CISA SSVC reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
Apple Safari	Affected =0	Fixed in–

AI-suggested

Organizations and users should promptly update Safari to version 17.6 or later and ensure all related Apple operating systems are updated to the specified versions (iOS 16.7.9, iPadOS 16.7.9, iOS 17.6, iPadOS 17.6, macOS Sonoma 14.6, tvOS 17.6, visionOS 1.3, watchOS 10.6). Beyond patching, network-level protections such as web filtering and DNS filtering can help block access to known malicious websites that might exploit this vulnerability. Security awareness training should emphasize caution when clicking on unknown or suspicious links to reduce the risk of user interaction with malicious content. Monitoring Safari crash logs and endpoint behavior can help detect potential exploitation attempts. For high-security environments, consider restricting Safari usage or deploying alternative browsers until patches are applied. Regular vulnerability scanning and asset inventory management will ensure all affected devices are identified and remediated. Finally, maintain up-to-date backups and incident response plans to mitigate potential operational impacts from denial-of-service conditions.

Description

A use-after-free issue was addressed with improved memory management. This issue is fixed in Safari 17.6, iOS 16.7.9 and iPadOS 16.7.9, iOS 17.6 and iPadOS 17.6, macOS Sonoma 14.6, tvOS 17.6, visionOS 1.3, watchOS 10.6. Processing maliciously crafted web content may lead to an unexpected process crash.

Impact

The primary impact of CVE-2024-40776 is denial of service through unexpected process crashes of Safari, which can disrupt user access to web resources and degrade productivity. For organizations relying heavily on Apple devices and Safari for critical business operations, repeated crashes could lead to operational interruptions and increased support costs. Although this vulnerability does not compromise confidentiality or integrity, the availability impact could be exploited in targeted attacks to disrupt services or user workflows. Enterprises with large Apple device deployments, especially in sectors like finance, healthcare, and government, may face increased risk of service disruption. Additionally, users in environments with strict uptime requirements or remote work scenarios could experience significant inconvenience. Since exploitation requires user interaction, social engineering or phishing campaigns could be used to lure victims to malicious sites. The absence of known exploits reduces immediate risk, but the medium severity score warrants timely patching to prevent potential denial-of-service incidents.

CWE-416Use After Free (opens in a new tab)
Variant weaknessLikelihood of exploit: HighCWE Top 25 (2025): #7
The product reuses or references memory after it has been freed. At some point afterward, the memory may be allocated again and saved in another pointer, while the original pointer references a location somewhere within the new allocation. Any operations using the original pointer are no longer valid because the memory "belongs" to the code that operates on the new pointer.
Architecture and Design · Language Selection
Choose a language that provides automatic memory management.
Implementation · Attack Surface Reduction
When freeing pointers, be sure to set them to NULL once they are freed. However, the utilization of multiple or complex data structures may lower the usefulness of this strategy.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
XML Security (opens in a new tab)
Mass Assignment (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V13.3.1 (opens in a new tab)
V5.1.4 (opens in a new tab)
V5.1.3 (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

Community reviews

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 2 Apr 2026, 23:23 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-416

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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