CVE-2024-23237 – This macOS vulnerability allows malicious appli... (How to Fix)

Q: What is the severity of CVE-2024-23237?

CVE-2024-23237 has a CVSS score of 5.5 (MEDIUM). This macOS vulnerability allows malicious applications to cause denial-of-service conditions through improper memory handling. It affects macOS systems running versions before Sequoia 15. The issue requires local application execution to trigger.

📋 TL;DR

This macOS vulnerability allows malicious applications to cause denial-of-service conditions through improper memory handling. It affects macOS systems running versions before Sequoia 15. The issue requires local application execution to trigger.

💻 Affected Systems

Products:

macOS

Versions: Versions before macOS Sequoia 15

Operating Systems: macOS

Default Config Vulnerable: ⚠️ Yes

Notes: All standard macOS installations are vulnerable. Requires application execution with user privileges.

📦 What is this software?

Macos by Apple

macOS is Apple's desktop and laptop operating system powering Mac computers used by millions of professionals, developers, creative professionals, and enterprise users worldwide. Built on a Unix foundation with the Darwin kernel and modern Cocoa frameworks, macOS delivers a seamless ecosystem integr...

Learn more about Macos →

⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact

🔴

Worst Case

Complete system crash or freeze requiring hard reboot, potentially causing data loss or service disruption.

🟠

Likely Case

Application crashes or system instability affecting user productivity and requiring restart of affected applications.

🟢

If Mitigated

Minimal impact with proper application sandboxing and privilege restrictions limiting damage scope.

🌐 Internet-Facing: LOW - Requires local application execution, not directly exploitable over network.

🏢 Internal Only: MEDIUM - Malicious or compromised local applications could trigger denial-of-service affecting productivity.

🎯 Exploit Status

Public PoC: ✅ No

Weaponized: UNKNOWN

Unauthenticated Exploit: ✅ No

Complexity: MEDIUM

Requires user to execute malicious application. No public exploit code available as of analysis.

🛠️ Fix & Mitigation

✅ Official Fix

Patch Version: macOS Sequoia 15

Vendor Advisory: https://support.apple.com/en-us/121238

Restart Required: Yes

Instructions:

1. Open System Settings 2. Click General 3. Click Software Update 4. Install macOS Sequoia 15 update 5. Restart when prompted

🔧 Temporary Workarounds

Application Restriction

macOS

Restrict installation and execution of untrusted applications

sudo spctl --master-enable
sudo spctl --enable --label "Developer ID"

🧯 If You Can't Patch

Implement strict application allowlisting to prevent execution of untrusted software
Use macOS Gatekeeper and XProtect features to block known malicious applications

🔍 How to Verify

Check if Vulnerable:

Check macOS version: if earlier than 15.0, system is vulnerable

Check Version:

sw_vers

Verify Fix Applied:

Verify macOS version is 15.0 or later after update

📡 Detection & Monitoring

Log Indicators:

Kernel panic logs
Application crash reports with memory-related errors
Console.app entries showing memory allocation failures

Network Indicators:

None - local vulnerability only

SIEM Query:

source="macOS" AND (event="kernel_panic" OR event="crash_report") AND process contains memory allocation errors

📊 Metadata

CVE ID: CVE-2024-23237

CVSS v3 Score: 5.5 (MEDIUM)

CVSS Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Published: September 17, 2024

Last Updated: November 4, 2025

🔗 References

https://support.apple.com/en-us/121238 Vendor Advisory
http://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2024/Sep/33

📤 Share & Export

📄 Export Markdown 📋 Export JSON