CVE-2025-24127 is a vulnerability identified in Apple macOS and other Apple operating systems such as iPadOS, iOS, tvOS, and visionOS, where parsing a specially crafted file can lead to an unexpected application termination, effectively causing a denial-of-service (DoS) condition. The root cause is insufficient validation during file parsing, categorized under CWE-770 (Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling), which can cause resource exhaustion or instability leading to app crashes. The vulnerability does not impact confidentiality or integrity but affects availability by crashing applications that process the malicious file. Exploitation requires local access and user interaction, as the user must open or otherwise trigger the parsing of the crafted file. The CVSS v3.1 base score is 5.5 (medium severity), with attack vector local (AV:L), low attack complexity (AC:L), no privileges required (PR:N), user interaction required (UI:R), unchanged scope (S:U), no impact on confidentiality or integrity (C:N/I:N), and high impact on availability (A:H). Apple has addressed this vulnerability by implementing improved input validation and released patches in macOS Ventura 13.7.3, Sonoma 14.7.3, Sequoia 15.3, iPadOS 17.7.4 and 18.3, iOS 18.3, tvOS 18.3, and visionOS 2.3. No public exploits are known, but unpatched systems remain vulnerable to denial-of-service attacks that could disrupt user productivity or critical application availability.

For European organizations, the primary impact of CVE-2025-24127 is the potential for denial-of-service conditions on Apple devices when processing maliciously crafted files. This could disrupt business operations, especially in sectors relying heavily on Apple ecosystems such as creative industries, education, healthcare, and government agencies. While the vulnerability does not allow data theft or privilege escalation, repeated or targeted crashes could degrade user productivity and potentially impact availability of critical applications. Organizations with Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policies or extensive use of Apple hardware are at increased risk. Additionally, environments that process files from external or untrusted sources are more vulnerable to exploitation. The lack of known exploits reduces immediate risk but does not eliminate the threat, especially as attackers may develop exploits post-disclosure. Failure to patch could lead to increased helpdesk costs and operational disruptions.

European organizations should implement the following specific mitigations: 1) Prioritize deployment of Apple security updates macOS Ventura 13.7.3, Sonoma 14.7.3, Sequoia 15.3, iPadOS 17.7.4/18.3, iOS 18.3, tvOS 18.3, and visionOS 2.3 to all affected devices promptly. 2) Enforce strict file handling policies restricting opening of files from untrusted or unknown sources, especially on Apple devices. 3) Educate users about the risks of opening unsolicited files and encourage cautious behavior to reduce user interaction exploitation. 4) Implement endpoint monitoring to detect abnormal application crashes or resource exhaustion patterns indicative of exploitation attempts. 5) For critical environments, consider application whitelisting or sandboxing to limit impact of unexpected app terminations. 6) Maintain regular backups and incident response plans to quickly recover from potential denial-of-service disruptions. 7) Coordinate with Apple support and leverage enterprise management tools (e.g., Apple Business Manager, MDM solutions) to automate patch deployment and compliance reporting.