CVE-2025-24085: Use After Free Vulnerability Addressed in VisionOS 2.3, iOS 18.3, iPadOS 18.3, macOS Sequoia 15.3, watchOS 11.3, and tvOS 18.3 with Improved Memory Management

A serious use-after-free vulnerability (CVE-2025-24085) has been identified and fixed in several Apple operating systems, including visionOS 2.3, iOS 18.3 and iPadOS 18.3, macOS Sequoia 15.3, watchOS 11.3, and tvOS 18.3. The vulnerability may allow a malicious application to elevate its privileges, potentially leading to unauthorized access or data leakage. This issue has been patched, but previous versions of iOS are known to be at risk of active exploitation.

Introduction

A use-after-free issue occurs when a program continues to use memory after it has been freed, potentially leading to serious security loopholes. The CVE-2025-24085 vulnerability was addressed by improving memory management in several Apple operating systems. The issue was fixed with the release of visionOS 2.3, iOS 18.3 and iPadOS 18.3, macOS Sequoia 15.3, watchOS 11.3, and tvOS 18.3.

Exploit Details

A malicious application could exploit the vulnerability to elevate its privileges within the affected system. Apple has acknowledged that this issue may have been actively exploited against older versions of iOS before 17.2.

Code snippet to demonstrate the issue

def vulnerable_function():
    buffer = malloc(100)    # Allocating memory
    ...
    free(buffer)            # Freeing memory

    ...

    buffer[] = 42          # Use-after-free vulnerability

The code above shows a simple example of a use-after-free vulnerability. The buffer is allocated memory, and then the memory is freed. After that, the code continues to use the buffer, which can lead to undefined behavior and potential security risks.

Fix and Patch

Apple has addressed this issue with improved memory management in their latest operating system updates:

- visionOS 2.3
- iOS 18.3 and iPadOS 18.3
- macOS Sequoia 15.3
- watchOS 11.3
- tvOS 18.3

It is critical that users update their systems immediately to protect against potential exploitation.

Conclusion

The CVE-2025-24085 vulnerability is a serious security issue that affects multiple Apple operating systems, and Apple has acknowledged reports of active exploitation in older versions. By updating to the latest versions of visionOS, iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS, users can protect their systems from being exploited by malicious applications looking to gain unauthorized access and potentially leak sensitive data.

Stay up to date with the latest security updates and be vigilant against potential threats. Always be cautious when downloading and installing new applications, and keep your systems updated to stay protected against known vulnerabilities like CVE-2025-24085.

Timeline

Published on: 01/27/2025 22:15:14 UTC
Last modified on: 01/30/2025 02:00:02 UTC