CVE-2025-24173 is a vulnerability in Apple’s iOS, iPadOS, and other related operating systems that allows an application to escape its sandbox environment. The sandbox is a critical security mechanism that restricts apps to a limited set of resources and data, preventing them from affecting other apps or the system. This vulnerability arises from insufficient entitlement checks, which are security controls that verify whether an app has permission to perform certain sensitive operations. By exploiting this flaw, a malicious app could bypass these restrictions, gaining unauthorized access to system resources, user data, or other apps’ data, potentially leading to privilege escalation and broader system compromise. The vulnerability affects multiple Apple platforms, including iOS, iPadOS, macOS (Sequoia, Sonoma, Ventura), tvOS, visionOS, and watchOS. Apple addressed this issue by implementing additional entitlement checks in the affected operating system versions, released in early 2025. The CVSS v3.1 score of 7.8 reflects a high severity, with an attack vector limited to local access (AV:L), low attack complexity (AC:L), no privileges required (PR:N), but requiring user interaction (UI:R). The impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability is rated high, indicating that successful exploitation could lead to significant data breaches or system disruptions. No known exploits have been reported in the wild yet, but the vulnerability’s nature makes it a serious concern for users and organizations relying on Apple devices.

The impact of CVE-2025-24173 is significant for organizations worldwide that deploy Apple devices across their environments. A successful sandbox escape can allow malicious apps to access sensitive user data, system files, or other applications’ data, undermining the core security model of Apple’s platforms. This could lead to data breaches, unauthorized surveillance, installation of persistent malware, or disruption of device functionality. For enterprises, this vulnerability could compromise corporate data on mobile devices, weaken endpoint security, and facilitate lateral movement within networks if devices are used as entry points. The requirement for user interaction and local access somewhat limits remote exploitation, but social engineering or delivery of malicious apps through sideloading or enterprise app stores could enable attackers to leverage this flaw. The broad range of affected Apple operating systems increases the scope of potential impact, affecting mobile users, desktop users, and specialized device users (e.g., Apple TV, Apple Watch). Given Apple’s large market share in consumer and enterprise sectors, the vulnerability poses a widespread risk to privacy and security.

To mitigate CVE-2025-24173, organizations and users should immediately update all affected Apple devices to the patched versions: iOS 18.4, iPadOS 18.4 and 17.7.6, macOS Sequoia 15.4, Sonoma 14.7.5, Ventura 13.7.5, tvOS 18.4, visionOS 2.4, and watchOS 11.4. Beyond patching, organizations should enforce strict app installation policies, limiting app sources to the official Apple App Store and trusted enterprise app stores to reduce the risk of malicious apps exploiting this vulnerability. Implement mobile device management (MDM) solutions to monitor and control app permissions and entitlements. Educate users about the risks of installing untrusted apps and the importance of avoiding suspicious links or prompts that require user interaction. Employ runtime application self-protection (RASP) or endpoint detection and response (EDR) tools capable of detecting anomalous app behaviors indicative of sandbox escapes. Regularly audit device configurations and app entitlements to ensure compliance with security policies. Finally, maintain an incident response plan that includes steps for containment and remediation if exploitation is suspected.