CVE-2025-24086VulnerabilityPublished 27 Jan 2025Updated 2 Apr 2026

CVE-2025-24086: Apple iOS and iPadOS · Processing an image may lead to a denial-of-service

Affects Apple iOS and iPadOSSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 5.5 Medium · fixed in 18.3 : update Apple iOS and iPadOS when convenient.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 07:57 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 19% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch: Available – fixed in 18.3

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

Attack Vector: Local
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: 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: 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 27 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 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 iOS and iPadOS	Affected =0	Fixed in–

AI-suggested

1. Apply the latest security updates from Apple immediately, specifically iOS 18.3, iPadOS 18.3 and 17.7.4, macOS Sequoia 15.3, Sonoma 14.7.3, Ventura 13.7.3, tvOS 18.3, visionOS 2.3, and watchOS 11.3 or later versions. 2. Educate users to avoid opening images from untrusted or unknown sources, especially in emails, messaging apps, or websites. 3. Implement email and web filtering solutions that scan and block malicious image files or suspicious attachments before reaching end users. 4. Restrict or monitor the use of image preview features in enterprise-managed devices where feasible to reduce risk of inadvertent processing. 5. Employ endpoint detection and response (EDR) tools to monitor for abnormal application crashes or device reboots that may indicate exploitation attempts. 6. For critical environments, consider isolating Apple devices from high-risk networks or limiting their exposure to untrusted content. 7. Maintain regular backups and incident response plans to quickly recover from potential DoS incidents. 8. Coordinate with Apple support and security advisories to stay informed about any emerging exploit techniques or additional patches.

Description

The issue was addressed with improved memory handling. This issue is fixed in iOS 18.3 and iPadOS 18.3, iPadOS 17.7.4, macOS Sequoia 15.3, macOS Sonoma 14.7.3, macOS Ventura 13.7.3, tvOS 18.3, visionOS 2.3, watchOS 11.3. Processing an image may lead to a denial-of-service.

Impact

The primary impact of CVE-2025-24086 is denial-of-service, which can cause affected Apple devices to crash or become unresponsive when processing a malicious image. This can disrupt user productivity, cause application failures, or in critical environments, impact operational continuity. Since the vulnerability affects multiple Apple operating systems including iOS, iPadOS, macOS, tvOS, visionOS, and watchOS, a wide range of devices such as iPhones, iPads, Macs, Apple TVs, Vision Pro devices, and Apple Watches are potentially affected. Organizations relying heavily on Apple ecosystems—such as enterprises, healthcare providers, government agencies, and educational institutions—may experience service interruptions if devices are targeted. Although exploitation requires user interaction, attackers could leverage social engineering to trick users into opening malicious images via email, messaging apps, or websites. The lack of confidentiality or integrity impact limits the threat to availability, but repeated or targeted DoS attacks could degrade trust in device reliability. The absence of known exploits reduces immediate risk, but the medium severity score and broad device coverage warrant prompt remediation to prevent potential disruption.

CWE-770Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling (opens in a new tab)
Base weaknessLikelihood of exploit: HighCWE Top 25 (2025): #25
The product allocates a reusable resource or group of resources on behalf of an actor without imposing any intended restrictions on the size or number of resources that can be allocated.
Requirements
Clearly specify the minimum and maximum expectations for capabilities, and dictate which behaviors are acceptable when resource allocation reaches limits.
Architecture and Design
Limit the amount of resources that are accessible to unprivileged users. Set per-user limits for resources. Allow the system administrator to define these limits. Be careful to avoid CWE-410.
Architecture and Design
Design throttling mechanisms into the system architecture. The best protection is to limit the amount of resources that an unauthorized user can cause to be expended.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
Abuse Case (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V8.1.4 (opens in a new tab)
V13.4.1 (opens in a new tab)
V11.1.4 (opens in a new tab)
Attack patterns
XML Ping of the Death (opens in a new tab)
Exponential Data Expansion (opens in a new tab)
Serialized Data Parameter Blowup (opens in a new tab)
Serialized Data with Nested Payloads (opens in a new tab)
Oversized Serialized Data Payloads (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, 00:25 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-770

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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