CVE-2024-40855VulnerabilityPublished 28 Oct 2024Updated 2 Apr 2026

CVE-2024-40855: Apple macOS · A sandboxed app may be able to access sensitive user data

Affects Apple macOSSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 5.5 Medium.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 06:26 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 28 Oct 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 2026-10-26.

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 macOS	Affected =0	Fixed in–

AI-suggested

To mitigate CVE-2024-40855, organizations and users should promptly update affected macOS systems to the patched versions: macOS Sequoia 15, Sonoma 14.7.1, Ventura 13.7.1, or visionOS 2. Beyond patching, organizations should enforce strict application vetting policies, limiting installation of untrusted or unnecessary sandboxed applications. Employ endpoint detection and response (EDR) solutions to monitor for suspicious local app behavior that attempts unauthorized data access. Use macOS security features such as System Integrity Protection (SIP) and Full Disk Encryption (FileVault) to reduce data exposure risk. Regularly audit sandbox configurations and app permissions to ensure minimal privilege principles are enforced. Educate users about the risks of installing unverified apps and encourage use of the Apple App Store or trusted sources. For high-security environments, consider application whitelisting and restricting local user privileges to reduce the likelihood of exploitation. Finally, maintain an up-to-date inventory of macOS devices and their patch status to ensure timely remediation.

Description

The issue was addressed with improved checks. This issue is fixed in macOS Sequoia 15, macOS Sonoma 14.7.1, macOS Ventura 13.7.1, visionOS 2. A sandboxed app may be able to access sensitive user data.

Impact

The primary impact of CVE-2024-40855 is the unauthorized disclosure of sensitive user data by sandboxed applications. This can lead to privacy violations, leakage of personal or corporate information, and potential compliance issues for organizations handling sensitive data on macOS devices. Since sandboxed apps are typically considered low-risk due to their restricted privileges, this vulnerability undermines that trust boundary, increasing the attack surface. Although the vulnerability does not allow modification or destruction of data (integrity and availability unaffected), the confidentiality breach can facilitate further attacks such as social engineering, identity theft, or targeted espionage. Organizations with macOS deployments, especially those in regulated industries or handling sensitive intellectual property, face increased risk if unpatched. The requirement for local access limits remote exploitation, but insider threats or malware running with user-level privileges could exploit this flaw. Overall, the vulnerability could erode user trust in macOS sandboxing security if left unaddressed.

CWE-863Incorrect Authorization (opens in a new tab)
Class weaknessLikelihood of exploit: HighCWE Top 25 (2025): #17OWASP Top 10 A01:2025: Broken Access Control (opens in a new tab)
The product performs an authorization check when an actor attempts to access a resource or perform an action, but it does not correctly perform the check.
Architecture and Design
Divide the product into anonymous, normal, privileged, and administrative areas. Reduce the attack surface by carefully mapping roles with data and functionality. Use role-based access control (RBAC) to enforce the roles at the appropriate boundaries.
Architecture and Design
Ensure that access control checks are performed related to the business logic. These checks may be different than the access control checks that are applied to more generic resources such as files, connections, processes, memory, and database records.
Architecture and Design · Libraries or Frameworks
Use a vetted library or framework that does not allow this weakness to occur or provides constructs that make this weakness easier to avoid.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
Authorization (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V8.3.8 (opens in a new tab)
V13.4.2 (opens in a new tab)
V7.2.2 (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

Community reviews

Loading reviews…

Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

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

WeaknessesCWE-863

Technical details

References

Community reviews

Related threats