VulnerabilityPublished 27 Jan 2025Updated 2 Apr 2026

CVE-2025-24152: Apple macOS · An app may be able to cause unexpected system termination or corrupt kernel memory

Affects Apple macOSSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 5.5 Medium · fixed in 15.3 : update Apple macOS when convenient.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 10:12 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 10% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch: Available – fixed in 15.3

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

Attack Vector: Local
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: Low
User Interaction: None
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: 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: 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 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 patch by upgrading to macOS Sequoia 15.3 or later, as this update includes the fix for the vulnerability through improved memory handling.
Restrict installation and execution of untrusted or unnecessary applications, especially those requiring local privileges, to reduce the attack surface.
Employ endpoint protection solutions capable of detecting abnormal application behavior or kernel crashes that may indicate exploitation attempts.
Monitor system logs and kernel crash reports for unusual patterns or frequent unexpected terminations that could signal exploitation attempts.
Implement strict user privilege management and limit local user permissions to the minimum necessary to reduce the likelihood of exploitation by low-privilege apps.
Educate users about the risks of running unverified software and encourage adherence to security best practices.
In high-security environments, consider using macOS security features such as System Integrity Protection (SIP) and sandboxing to limit app capabilities further.
Maintain regular backups and recovery plans to mitigate the impact of potential system crashes or instability caused by exploitation.

Description

The issue was addressed with improved memory handling. This issue is fixed in macOS Sequoia 15.3. An app may be able to cause unexpected system termination or corrupt kernel memory.

Impact

The primary impact of CVE-2025-24152 is on system availability. Successful exploitation can cause unexpected system termination (crashes) or kernel memory corruption, potentially leading to system instability or denial of service. For organizations, this can result in downtime, disruption of critical services, and potential data loss if systems crash during important operations. Although confidentiality and integrity are not directly affected, the instability could be leveraged as part of a broader attack chain or to disrupt operations. The requirement for local access with low privileges limits remote exploitation but does not eliminate risk, especially in environments where users run untrusted applications or where attackers have gained limited local access. Enterprises relying heavily on macOS for critical infrastructure, creative workflows, or development environments may face operational risks if unpatched. The absence of known exploits reduces immediate risk but does not preclude future exploitation attempts. Overall, the vulnerability poses a moderate risk to organizations worldwide, particularly those with large macOS deployments.

References

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 3 Apr 2026, 00:38 UTC

Technical details

References

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