VulnerabilityPublished 16 Sep 2024Updated 2 Apr 2026

CVE-2024-40801: Apple macOS · An app may be able to access protected user data

Affects Apple macOSSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 5.5 Medium.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 10:12 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

5.5Medium

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

EPSS: 0.2% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 13% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.

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

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

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

Attack Vector: Local: The vulnerable component is not bound to the network stack and the attacker’s path is via read/write/execute capabilities. Either: the attacker exploits the vulnerability by accessing the target system locally (e.g., keyboard, console), or remotely (e.g., SSH); or the attacker relies on User Interaction by another person to perform actions required to exploit the vulnerability (e.g., tricking a legitimate user into opening a malicious document).
Attack Complexity: Low: Specialized access conditions or extenuating circumstances do not exist. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable component.
Privileges Required: Low: The attacker is authorized with (i.e., requires) privileges that provide basic user capabilities that could normally affect only settings and files owned by a user. Alternatively, an attacker with Low privileges may have the ability to cause an impact only to non-sensitive resources.
User Interaction: None: The vulnerable system can be exploited without any interaction from any user.
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: High: There is total loss of confidentiality, resulting in all resources within the impacted component being divulged to the attacker. Alternatively, access to only some restricted information is obtained, but the disclosed information presents a direct, serious impact.
Integrity: None: There is no loss of integrity within the impacted component.
Availability: None: There is no impact to availability within the impacted component.

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 16 Sep 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 26 Oct 2026.

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 or the CVSS exploit maturity 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 macOS	Affected =0	Fixed in–

AI-suggested

To mitigate CVE-2024-40801, organizations should promptly update all macOS devices to macOS Sequoia 15 or macOS Sonoma 14.7 or later, where the vulnerability is fixed. Beyond patching, organizations should enforce strict application control policies to limit installation and execution of untrusted or unnecessary applications, reducing the risk of local privilege exploitation. Employ endpoint detection and response (EDR) solutions to monitor for suspicious local activity indicative of unauthorized data access. Implement least privilege principles for user accounts to minimize the number of users and processes with local access rights. Regularly audit installed applications and permissions to identify and remove potentially risky software. Additionally, educate users about the risks of installing unverified applications and the importance of applying system updates promptly. For environments where immediate patching is not feasible, consider restricting local access to macOS devices and employing disk encryption to protect data at rest.

Description

A permissions issue was addressed with additional restrictions. This issue is fixed in macOS Sequoia 15, macOS Sonoma 14.7. An app may be able to access protected user data.

Impact

The primary impact of CVE-2024-40801 is unauthorized disclosure of protected user data on affected macOS systems. Organizations relying on macOS devices for sensitive operations or handling confidential information face risks of data leakage if untrusted or malicious applications gain local access. Although exploitation requires local privileges, the lack of user interaction means malware or insider threats could silently access sensitive data. This can lead to privacy violations, intellectual property theft, or exposure of personally identifiable information (PII). Since integrity and availability are not affected, the threat is confined to confidentiality breaches. The scope is limited to macOS devices running versions prior to Sequoia 15 and Sonoma 14.7, but given the widespread use of Apple devices in enterprise and consumer environments, the potential impact is significant. Organizations in sectors such as finance, healthcare, government, and technology, where data confidentiality is paramount, are particularly at risk.

References

Community reviews

Loading reviews…

Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 2 Apr 2026, 23:28 UTC

Technical details

References

Community reviews

Related threats