CVE-2025-24204 is a critical security vulnerability identified in Apple macOS, disclosed on March 31, 2025. The vulnerability allows an application to bypass normal access controls and gain unauthorized access to protected user data. This is due to insufficient or flawed validation checks within the operating system's security mechanisms, classified under CWE-200 (Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor). The vulnerability affects unspecified macOS versions prior to the release of macOS Sequoia 15.4, which includes the fix through improved access control checks. The CVSS v3.1 base score is 9.8, reflecting a network attack vector (AV:N), low attack complexity (AC:L), no privileges required (PR:N), and no user interaction needed (UI:N). The scope is unchanged (S:U), but the impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability is high (C:H/I:H/A:H). This means an attacker can remotely exploit this vulnerability without authentication or user interaction to fully compromise user data and potentially disrupt system operations. Although no active exploits have been reported in the wild, the critical nature and ease of exploitation make this a high-priority threat. The vulnerability could be leveraged by malicious actors to steal sensitive information, manipulate data, or cause denial of service on affected macOS systems. The fix involves updating to macOS Sequoia 15.4, which implements enhanced validation to prevent unauthorized data access. Organizations relying on macOS should urgently apply this update and review application permissions and monitoring to detect potential exploitation attempts.

For European organizations, the impact of CVE-2025-24204 is significant due to the widespread use of Apple macOS devices in enterprise environments, especially in sectors like finance, government, healthcare, and technology. Successful exploitation could lead to unauthorized disclosure of sensitive personal and corporate data, violating GDPR and other data protection regulations, resulting in legal and financial penalties. Integrity of critical data could be compromised, affecting decision-making and operational reliability. Availability impacts could disrupt business continuity if attackers leverage the vulnerability to cause system instability or denial of service. The lack of required privileges or user interaction lowers the barrier for attackers, increasing the risk of widespread exploitation. Organizations with remote workforces using macOS devices are particularly vulnerable, as network-based exploitation is possible. The reputational damage from data breaches could be severe, especially for organizations handling confidential or regulated information. Overall, this vulnerability poses a critical threat to the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of data and systems within European enterprises.

1. Immediately update all macOS devices to macOS Sequoia 15.4 or later, which contains the patch for CVE-2025-24204. 2. Implement strict application whitelisting to prevent unauthorized or untrusted applications from executing on macOS systems. 3. Enforce least privilege principles by restricting application permissions and user rights to minimize potential attack surfaces. 4. Deploy endpoint detection and response (EDR) solutions capable of monitoring for anomalous application behaviors indicative of exploitation attempts. 5. Conduct regular audits of installed applications and system logs to identify suspicious access to protected user data. 6. Educate users and administrators about the risks of running untrusted software and the importance of timely patching. 7. Utilize network segmentation to limit exposure of macOS devices to untrusted networks. 8. Monitor threat intelligence sources for any emerging exploit code or attack campaigns targeting this vulnerability. 9. Prepare incident response plans specifically addressing potential data breaches involving macOS systems. 10. Coordinate with Apple support and security advisories to stay informed about any subsequent updates or mitigations.