VulnerabilityPublished 28 Oct 2024Updated 2 Apr 2026

CVE-2024-44264: Apple macOS · Link Following

Affects Apple macOSSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 7.5 High · fixed in 15.1 : patch Apple macOS soon.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 17:16 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

7.5High

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

EPSS: 0.6% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 49% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch: Available – fixed in 15.1

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

Attack Vector: Network
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: None
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: 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: 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 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

Apply the official Apple security updates immediately by upgrading to macOS Sequoia 15.1, Sonoma 14.7.1, or Ventura 13.7.1 or later versions where the vulnerability is fixed.
Restrict installation of applications to trusted sources only, leveraging Apple’s notarization and Gatekeeper features to reduce the risk of malicious apps.
Implement strict endpoint security monitoring to detect unusual symlink creation or filesystem access patterns indicative of exploitation attempts.
Use filesystem integrity monitoring tools to alert on unauthorized symbolic link creation or modifications in protected directories.
Employ application whitelisting to limit execution of untrusted or unknown applications that could exploit this vulnerability.
Educate users and administrators about the risks of installing unverified software and the importance of timely patching.
For high-security environments, consider additional sandboxing or containerization of applications to limit filesystem access.
Regularly audit macOS devices for compliance with security policies and presence of outdated software versions vulnerable to this issue.

Description

This issue was addressed with improved validation of symlinks. This issue is fixed in macOS Sequoia 15.1, macOS Sonoma 14.7.1, macOS Ventura 13.7.1. A malicious app may be able to create symlinks to protected regions of the disk.

Impact

The primary impact of CVE-2024-44264 is the potential unauthorized disclosure of sensitive information stored in protected regions of the macOS filesystem. By creating symlinks to these protected areas, a malicious app can circumvent normal access controls, leading to confidentiality breaches. Although the vulnerability does not directly affect data integrity or system availability, the exposure of confidential data can have severe consequences, including intellectual property theft, exposure of personal or corporate secrets, and facilitation of further attacks. Organizations relying on macOS devices for critical operations, especially those handling sensitive or regulated data, face increased risk of data leakage. The ease of exploitation—requiring no privileges or user interaction—raises the likelihood of automated or remote attacks, increasing the threat surface. This vulnerability could also be used as a stepping stone for privilege escalation or lateral movement within a network if combined with other exploits. Overall, the threat undermines trust in macOS security controls and necessitates urgent remediation to protect organizational assets.

CWE-59Improper Link Resolution Before File Access ('Link Following') (opens in a new tab)
Base weaknessLikelihood of exploit: MediumOWASP Top 10 A01:2025: Broken Access Control (opens in a new tab)
The product attempts to access a file based on the filename, but it does not properly prevent that filename from identifying a link or shortcut that resolves to an unintended resource.
Architecture and Design · Separation of Privilege
Follow the principle of least privilege when assigning access rights to entities in a software system.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
Authorization (opens in a new tab)
Attack patterns
Symlink Attack (opens in a new tab)
Using Malicious Files (opens in a new tab)
Leverage Executable Code in Non-Executable Files (opens in a new tab)
Manipulating Web Input to File System Calls (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 3 Apr 2026, 00:06 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-59

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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