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CVE-2025-31202: An attacker on the local network may be able to cause a denial-of-service in Apple tvOS

Medium
VulnerabilityCVE-2025-31202cvecve-2025-31202
Published: Tue Apr 29 2025 (04/29/2025, 02:05:16 UTC)
Source: CVE
Vendor/Project: Apple
Product: tvOS

Description

A null pointer dereference was addressed with improved input validation. This issue is fixed in iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4, macOS Sequoia 15.4, tvOS 18.4, visionOS 2.4. An attacker on the local network may be able to cause a denial-of-service.

AI-Powered Analysis

AILast updated: 06/25/2025, 00:51:37 UTC

Technical Analysis

CVE-2025-31202 is a vulnerability identified in Apple's tvOS operating system, specifically involving a null pointer dereference issue. This flaw arises due to insufficient input validation, which can be triggered by an attacker on the local network. The vulnerability allows an unauthenticated attacker with local network access to cause a denial-of-service (DoS) condition by crashing the affected device. The root cause is a null pointer dereference (CWE-476), a common programming error where the software attempts to access or dereference a pointer that has a null value, leading to application or system crashes. This vulnerability affects multiple Apple operating systems, including tvOS, iOS, iPadOS, macOS Sequoia, and visionOS, with fixes implemented in versions 18.4 for tvOS, iOS, and iPadOS, 15.4 for macOS Sequoia, and 2.4 for visionOS. The CVSS v3.1 base score is 5.5, indicating a medium severity level. The attack vector is local network (AV:L), requiring no privileges (PR:N) but some user interaction (UI:R), and impacts availability (A:H) without affecting confidentiality or integrity. No known exploits are currently reported in the wild. The vulnerability's exploitation scope is limited to local network attackers, meaning remote exploitation over the internet is not feasible without network access. The issue is mitigated by improved input validation in the patched versions, preventing the null pointer dereference from occurring.

Potential Impact

For European organizations, the primary impact of CVE-2025-31202 is the potential disruption of services relying on Apple tvOS devices, such as digital signage, conference room systems, or media distribution platforms within corporate environments. A successful denial-of-service attack could lead to temporary unavailability of these devices, causing operational interruptions and potential productivity loss. Since the vulnerability does not affect confidentiality or integrity, the risk of data breaches or unauthorized data manipulation is minimal. However, organizations with extensive deployments of Apple tvOS devices in critical infrastructure or customer-facing roles might experience reputational damage or service degradation. The requirement for local network access limits the threat to attackers who have penetrated or are physically present within the organization's network perimeter, reducing the risk from remote adversaries. Nonetheless, in environments with weak network segmentation or guest network isolation, the vulnerability could be exploited by insiders or lateral movement attackers. Given the medium severity and lack of known exploits, the immediate risk is moderate but should not be ignored, especially in sectors where service availability is crucial.

Mitigation Recommendations

1. Ensure all Apple devices, including tvOS, iOS, iPadOS, macOS Sequoia, and visionOS, are updated promptly to the fixed versions (tvOS 18.4, iOS/iPadOS 18.4, macOS 15.4, visionOS 2.4) to apply the input validation improvements. 2. Implement strict network segmentation to isolate Apple tvOS devices from untrusted or guest network segments, limiting local network exposure. 3. Monitor local network traffic for unusual patterns or repeated connection attempts to Apple tvOS devices that could indicate exploitation attempts. 4. Employ network access controls (NAC) to restrict device connectivity and enforce authentication before granting network access, reducing the risk of unauthorized local network presence. 5. Educate staff about the risks of connecting untrusted devices to the corporate network and the importance of maintaining updated software on all endpoints. 6. Consider deploying intrusion detection/prevention systems (IDS/IPS) with signatures or heuristics tuned to detect anomalies related to Apple tvOS network traffic. 7. Regularly audit and inventory Apple devices within the organization to ensure timely patch management and vulnerability remediation.

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Technical Details

Data Version
5.1
Assigner Short Name
apple
Date Reserved
2025-03-27T16:13:58.315Z
Cisa Enriched
true
Cvss Version
3.1
State
PUBLISHED

Threat ID: 682d983cc4522896dcbeec25

Added to database: 5/21/2025, 9:09:16 AM

Last enriched: 6/25/2025, 12:51:37 AM

Last updated: 8/9/2025, 4:01:11 AM

Views: 11

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