VulnerabilityPublished 15 Jan 2025Updated 2 Apr 2026

CVE-2024-40854: Apple iOS and iPadOS · An app may be able to cause unexpected system termination

Affects Apple iOS and iPadOSSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 6.5 Medium · fixed in 17.7.1 : update Apple iOS and iPadOS when convenient.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 17:16 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

6.5Medium

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

EPSS: 0.3% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 33% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch: Available – fixed in 17.7.1

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 15 Jan 2025
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 iOS and iPadOS	Affected =0	Fixed in–

AI-suggested

To mitigate CVE-2024-40854, organizations and users should promptly apply the security updates released by Apple: iOS 17.7.1, iOS 18.1, iPadOS 17.7.1, iPadOS 18.1, and the corresponding macOS updates (Sequoia 15.1, Sonoma 14.7.1, Ventura 13.7.1). Beyond patching, organizations should enforce strict app vetting policies, limiting installation to trusted sources such as the Apple App Store to reduce the risk of malicious apps exploiting this flaw. Employ Mobile Device Management (MDM) solutions to control app deployments and monitor device stability for unusual crash patterns that could indicate exploitation attempts. User education is critical to avoid installing untrusted applications or clicking suspicious links that could lead to malicious app installation. Additionally, implementing network-level protections to detect and block delivery of malicious payloads targeting Apple devices can further reduce exposure. Regularly reviewing device logs and crash reports can help identify attempts to exploit this vulnerability before patches are applied.

Description

A memory initialization issue was addressed with improved memory handling. This issue is fixed in iOS 17.7.1 and iPadOS 17.7.1, iOS 18.1 and iPadOS 18.1, macOS Sequoia 15.1, macOS Sonoma 14.7.1, macOS Ventura 13.7.1. An app may be able to cause unexpected system termination.

Impact

The primary impact of CVE-2024-40854 is on system availability. A malicious app exploiting this vulnerability can cause unexpected system termination, leading to device crashes or reboots. For organizations, this can translate into denial of service on critical mobile devices, disrupting business operations, communications, and access to mobile applications. While the vulnerability does not expose sensitive data or allow unauthorized data modification, repeated crashes can degrade user productivity and trust in device stability. In environments where iOS/iPadOS devices are used for sensitive or mission-critical tasks, such as healthcare, finance, or government, the disruption caused by this vulnerability could have significant operational consequences. Additionally, attackers might use this as a vector to cause targeted disruptions or as a component in more complex attack chains. The lack of known exploits in the wild reduces immediate risk but does not eliminate the potential for future exploitation, especially as the vulnerability is publicly disclosed.

References

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 2 Apr 2026, 23:39 UTC

Technical details

References

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