CVE-2024-40789VulnerabilityPublished 29 Jul 2024Updated 2 Apr 2026

CVE-2024-40789: 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: 1.1% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 66% 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 all affected Apple devices and Safari browsers to the patched versions: Safari 17.6, iOS 16.7.9 and 17.6, iPadOS 16.7.9 and 17.6, macOS Sonoma 14.6, tvOS 17.6, visionOS 1.3, and watchOS 10.6. Beyond patching, administrators should consider implementing network-level protections such as web filtering to block access to suspicious or untrusted websites that could host malicious content. Employing endpoint security solutions that monitor for abnormal browser crashes or unusual network activity can help detect exploitation attempts. User education is important to reduce the risk of visiting untrusted links or websites. For managed environments, restricting Safari usage or deploying alternative browsers temporarily until patching is complete may reduce exposure. Monitoring Apple security advisories for updates or emerging exploit reports is also recommended. Finally, ensure that incident response plans include procedures for handling denial-of-service incidents caused by browser crashes.

Description

An out-of-bounds access issue was addressed with improved bounds checking. 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-2024-40789 is denial of service through unexpected process crashes in Safari when processing malicious web content. For organizations, this can lead to disruption of web-based workflows, reduced productivity, and potential user frustration. While the vulnerability does not allow data theft or code execution, repeated crashes could be exploited to degrade service availability or as part of a broader attack strategy to distract or disrupt users. Enterprises relying heavily on Apple devices and Safari for critical operations may experience operational interruptions. Additionally, environments with shared devices or kiosks could be vulnerable to persistent denial of service if users are directed to malicious content. Since no authentication or elevated privileges are required, and the attack vector is remote via web browsing, the scope of affected systems is broad among Apple users. However, the lack of known exploits and the medium severity rating suggest the threat is moderate but should not be ignored.

CWE-125Out-of-bounds Read (opens in a new tab)
Base weaknessCWE Top 25 (2025): #8
The product reads data past the end, or before the beginning, of the intended buffer.
Implementation · Input Validation
Assume all input is malicious. Use an "accept known good" input validation strategy, i.e., use a list of acceptable inputs that strictly conform to specifications. Reject any input that does not strictly conform to specifications, or transform it into something that does.
Architecture and Design · Language Selection
Use a language that provides appropriate memory abstractions.
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)
Attack patterns
Overread Buffers (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, 23:26 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-125

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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