CVE-2025-24179 is a medium-severity vulnerability affecting Apple visionOS and related Apple operating systems including iOS, iPadOS, macOS Ventura, Sonoma, Sequoia, and tvOS. The root cause is a null pointer dereference triggered by insufficient input validation, which can be exploited by an attacker on the local network. This vulnerability allows an unauthenticated attacker with network access to cause a denial-of-service (DoS) condition by crashing the affected system or service. The flaw does not impact confidentiality or integrity but results in availability disruption. Exploitation requires the attacker to be on the same local network segment as the target device, and some user interaction is needed to trigger the vulnerability. Apple has addressed this issue in updates iOS 18.3, iPadOS 18.3 and 17.7.6, visionOS 2.3, macOS Ventura 13.7.5, Sonoma 14.7.5, Sequoia 15.3, and tvOS 18.3 by improving input validation to prevent the null pointer dereference. No known exploits are currently reported in the wild. The CVSS v3.1 base score is 5.7, reflecting medium severity with attack vector limited to adjacent network, low attack complexity, no privileges required, and user interaction required. The vulnerability is categorized under CWE-476 (NULL Pointer Dereference), a common programming error leading to crashes or DoS. Given the affected products are primarily Apple’s visionOS and related Apple platforms, the vulnerability is relevant to users and organizations deploying these systems, especially those using visionOS devices in networked environments.

For European organizations, the primary impact of CVE-2025-24179 is availability disruption of Apple visionOS devices and other affected Apple platforms. Organizations relying on visionOS for augmented or virtual reality applications, collaboration, or operational tasks may experience service interruptions if an attacker on the local network exploits this vulnerability. This could affect productivity, user experience, and potentially critical operations if visionOS devices are integrated into business workflows. Since the attack requires local network access, environments with shared or poorly segmented networks are at higher risk. The vulnerability does not compromise data confidentiality or integrity, so data breaches are unlikely. However, repeated or targeted DoS attacks could degrade trust in visionOS deployments and increase operational costs due to downtime and remediation efforts. The lack of known exploits reduces immediate risk, but the medium severity and ease of triggering a crash warrant timely patching. Organizations with mixed Apple ecosystems should also consider the impact on iOS, iPadOS, and macOS devices, as these platforms share the vulnerability and could be similarly disrupted.

To mitigate CVE-2025-24179, European organizations should: 1) Prioritize deployment of the Apple security updates that fix this vulnerability: visionOS 2.3, iOS 18.3, iPadOS 18.3 and 17.7.6, macOS Ventura 13.7.5, Sonoma 14.7.5, Sequoia 15.3, and tvOS 18.3. 2) Implement strict local network segmentation and access controls to limit exposure of visionOS and Apple devices to untrusted or guest users, reducing the risk of local network attacks. 3) Monitor network traffic for unusual patterns or repeated connection attempts targeting visionOS devices that could indicate exploitation attempts. 4) Educate users about the risk of interacting with unknown or suspicious network prompts or services that could trigger the vulnerability. 5) Employ network-level protections such as intrusion detection/prevention systems (IDS/IPS) configured to detect anomalous traffic on local subnets. 6) For organizations deploying visionOS in critical environments, consider additional redundancy or failover mechanisms to maintain availability in case of DoS events. 7) Maintain an inventory of all Apple devices and ensure patch management processes include timely updates for all affected platforms. These steps go beyond generic advice by focusing on network segmentation, monitoring, and user awareness tailored to the local network attack vector and the specific Apple ecosystem.