Actively exploited vulnerability

Apple products: memory corruption flaw under attack

CVE-2024-23296 · Apple Multiple Products Memory Corruption Vulnerability

Concerns everyone who uses it7.8 high

What is affected

Apple products are found on ordinary personal computers and phones, so this is not only a problem for companies. If you use them and have not updated since the fix was released, you are exposed.

Apple iOS, iPadOS, macOS, tvOS, and watchOS RTKit contain a memory corruption vulnerability that allows an attacker with arbitrary kernel read and write capability to bypass kernel memory protections.

CISA's description

What an attacker can do

This is a memory corruption flaw. It lets an attacker corrupt the program's memory by feeding it specially crafted content: a web page, a file or a network message. The result ranges from a crash to the attacker running their own code.

How it is reached
Needs access to the device or a file opened on it
Access the attacker needs
A basic user account
Does the victim have to do something?
No, works without the victim doing anything

What to do

  1. Update Apple products now. Open the update or "About" screen, install whatever is offered and restart the app or device, because the fix is not active until you do.
  2. Turn on automatic updates so the next fix arrives without you having to look for it.
  3. If your device is too old to receive this update, stop using the affected app for anything sensitive and plan a replacement.

Apply mitigations per vendor instructions or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.

Action required by CISA for US federal agencies

Vendor advisories and fixes

How urgent is it

CISA added this vulnerability to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalogue on March 6, 2024, which means there is reliable evidence of attacks in the wild. US federal agencies must fix it by March 27, 2024, a deadline that has already passed. That deadline does not bind anyone else, but it shows how seriously the agency rates it.

The EPSS model estimates a 1.4% probability that this flaw will be exploited somewhere in the next 30 days. That is higher than 72% of all scored vulnerabilities.

Its CVSS severity score is 7.8 out of 10 (high), as recorded in the US National Vulnerability Database.

Technical description

A memory corruption issue was addressed with improved validation. This issue is fixed in iOS 16.7.8 and iPadOS 16.7.8, iOS 17.4 and iPadOS 17.4, macOS Monterey 12.7.6, macOS Sonoma 14.4, macOS Ventura 13.6.7, tvOS 17.4, visionOS 1.1, watchOS 10.4. An attacker with arbitrary kernel read and write capability may be able to bypass kernel memory protections. Apple is aware of a report that this issue may have been exploited.

NIST National Vulnerability Database
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