Recently, a type confusion issue with the identifier CVE-2025-24137 has been discovered in popular operating systems such as iPadOS, macOS, visionOS, iOS, and watchOS. A remote attacker could potentially exploit this vulnerability to cause arbitrary code execution or unexpected application termination.
Luckily, this issue has been addressed with improved checks in recent software updates for the aforementioned operating systems. In this post, we will provide a detailed explanation of the vulnerability, including a code snippet, links to original references, and information about the exploit.
CVE-2025-24137 Vulnerability Details
A type confusion issue was identified in various popular 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, and tvOS 18.3. This issue has been fixed in the respective versions mentioned, improving checks and eliminating the vulnerability.
This vulnerability impacts the program's normal flow, which makes it difficult for the software to recover or remediate, giving remote attackers the ability to cause unexpected application termination or arbitrary code execution, potentially leading to severe consequences.
Here is a sample code snippet demonstrating the vulnerability due to type confusion
#include <stdio.h>
typedef struct {
int field1;
char field2;
} myTypeA;
typedef struct {
int field3;
long field4;
} myTypeB;
int main() {
myTypeA a;
myTypeB b;
// Type confusion occurs when a pointer of one type is used as if it points to another type
myTypeA *ptrA = &a;
myTypeA *ptrB = (myTypeA *)&b;
ptrA->field1 = 42;
ptrB->field1 = 84; // Exploiting type confusion
printf("a.field1 = %d \n", a.field1);
printf("b.field3 = %d \n", b.field3);
return ;
}
In the example above, type confusion occurs when the pointer ptrB points to a myTypeB instance but is treated as if it points to a myTypeA instance. This could lead to unexpected program behavior and might be exploited by remote attackers.
For more information and details about CVE-2025-24137, please refer to the following links
1. CVE-2025-24137 Official Advisory
2. National Vulnerability Database Entry
3. Apple Security Updates
Conclusion
It is crucial to ensure that your system is running on the latest version of the operating system to avoid any security risks. Please update your iPadOS, macOS, visionOS, iOS, watchOS, and tvOS to their latest respective versions to stay protected from CVE-2025-24137 and other potential vulnerabilities.
If you have any further questions or would like to discuss this topic further, feel free to leave a comment or reach out to us. Stay safe!
Timeline
Published on: 01/27/2025 22:15:18 UTC
Last modified on: 01/28/2025 20:15:56 UTC