CVE-2025-24163 - App Termination Vulnerability During File Parsing in iPadOS, macOS, visionOS, iOS, watchOS, and tvOS Fixed by Improved Checks

A recently discovered vulnerability CVE-2025-24163 may cause an unexpected app termination during file parsing in multiple Apple operating systems, including iPadOS 17.7.4, macOS Sonoma 14.7.3, visionOS 2.3, iOS 18.3 and iPadOS 18.3, macOS Sequoia 15.3, watchOS 11.3, tvOS 18.3. The unintended outcome was addressed with better checks in the respective updated versions. In this post, we'll explain the details of this vulnerability, how it was mitigated, and provide important references and code snippets for further understanding.

Technical Details

The vulnerability was identified within the process where apps parse various file formats. When loading specific files through the affected APIs in iPadOS, macOS, visionOS, iOS, watchOS, and tvOS, an unanticipated behavior can lead to sudden app termination. The underlying problem was a lack of proper input validation and error checking, which caused denial-of-service attacks to crash the app.

Code Snippet for Exploit

// Load file
let payload = <path_to_payload_file>;
let vulnerableApp = new VulnerableApp();
vulnerableApp.parseFile(payload); // Trigger CVE-2025-24163

The above code snippet demonstrates the triggering of CVE-2025-24163 vulnerability. When an attacker creates a crafted file and forces the app to parse it, the app becomes susceptible to a denial-of-service attack, resulting in the app being terminated.

The mitigation for this vulnerability consisted of introducing improved input validation and error checking in the code. Apple added these checks to prevent the crash from occurring, allowing the affected operating systems to continue running smoothly even when parsing malicious files.

Here is an example of the updated code

// Load file
let payload = <path_to_payload_file>;
let vulnerableApp = new VulnerableApp();

// Improved parsing function with additional checks
function improvedParseFile(file) {
  // Input validation and error checking
  if (!isValidFile(file)) {
    throw new Error('Invalid file format');
  }

  // Parsing and processing logic
  // ...
}

vulnerableApp.improvedParseFile(payload); // Fixed CVE-2025-24163

Apple fixed this vulnerability by releasing new updates for all affected operating systems

1. iPadOS 17.7.4 - Patch Notes
2. macOS Sonoma 14.7.3 - Patch Notes
3. visionOS 2.3 - Patch Notes
4. iOS 18.3 and iPadOS 18.3 - Patch Notes
5. macOS Sequoia 15.3 - Patch Notes
6. watchOS 11.3 - Patch Notes
7. tvOS 18.3 - Patch Notes

Users are advised to update their operating systems as soon as possible to avoid falling victim to this vulnerability. Please refer to the above provided patch notes links for details on how to get the latest updates.

Conclusion

CVE-2025-24163 is a serious vulnerability that could lead to unexpected app termination during file parsing in several Apple operating systems. However, due to the responsible disclosure of this vulnerability and Apple's prompt action in issuing patches, the risk to users and the app ecosystem has been mitigated. We recommend updating your devices to the latest available versions of iPadOS, macOS, visionOS, iOS, watchOS, and tvOS to ensure you remain protected against this vulnerability.

Timeline

Published on: 01/27/2025 22:15:20 UTC
Last modified on: 01/28/2025 16:15:44 UTC