CVE-2024-27881 – This vulnerability allows applications to acces... (How to Fix)

Q: What is the severity of CVE-2024-27881?

CVE-2024-27881 has a CVSS score of 5.3 (MEDIUM). This vulnerability allows applications to access sensitive contact information from macOS system logs due to insufficient data redaction. It affects macOS users running vulnerable versions of Sonoma, Monterey, and Ventura. The issue exposes personal contact details that should remain private.

📋 TL;DR

This vulnerability allows applications to access sensitive contact information from macOS system logs due to insufficient data redaction. It affects macOS users running vulnerable versions of Sonoma, Monterey, and Ventura. The issue exposes personal contact details that should remain private.

💻 Affected Systems

Products:

macOS

Versions: Versions prior to macOS Sonoma 14.6, macOS Monterey 12.7.6, macOS Ventura 13.6.8

Operating Systems: macOS

Default Config Vulnerable: ⚠️ Yes

Notes: All standard macOS installations with vulnerable versions are affected. No special configuration required for exploitation.

📦 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 →

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 →

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

Malicious applications could harvest complete contact lists including names, phone numbers, email addresses, and other personal details, leading to privacy violations and potential identity theft.

🟠

Likely Case

Applications with legitimate access to system logs could inadvertently or intentionally extract contact information, violating user privacy expectations.

🟢

If Mitigated

With proper application sandboxing and least privilege principles, only authorized applications would have access to logs, limiting exposure.

🌐 Internet-Facing: LOW - This is primarily a local privilege issue requiring application execution on the target system.

🏢 Internal Only: MEDIUM - Malicious or compromised applications within the environment could exploit this to gather sensitive user data.

🎯 Exploit Status

Public PoC: ✅ No

Weaponized: UNKNOWN

Unauthenticated Exploit: ✅ No

Complexity: LOW

Exploitation requires an application to be installed and executed on the target system. The technical barrier is low once an application gains execution.

🛠️ Fix & Mitigation

✅ Official Fix

Patch Version: macOS Sonoma 14.6, macOS Monterey 12.7.6, macOS Ventura 13.6.8

Vendor Advisory: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT214118

Restart Required: Yes

Instructions:

1. Open System Settings > General > Software Update. 2. Install available updates. 3. Restart the system when prompted.

🔧 Temporary Workarounds

Restrict application permissions

all

Review and limit application permissions, especially for applications that don't require contact access or system log access.

Monitor application behavior

all

Use macOS privacy controls to monitor which applications request contact access and deny unnecessary requests.

🧯 If You Can't Patch

Implement strict application whitelisting to prevent unauthorized applications from running
Deploy endpoint detection and response (EDR) solutions to monitor for suspicious log access patterns

🔍 How to Verify

Check if Vulnerable:

Check macOS version in System Settings > General > About. If version is earlier than Sonoma 14.6, Monterey 12.7.6, or Ventura 13.6.8, the system is vulnerable.

Check Version:

sw_vers

Verify Fix Applied:

After updating, verify the macOS version matches or exceeds the patched versions listed above.

📡 Detection & Monitoring

Log Indicators:

Unusual application access to system logs or contact-related system processes
Applications requesting excessive permissions or accessing privacy-sensitive areas

Network Indicators:

No direct network indicators as this is a local vulnerability

SIEM Query:

process_name contains 'log' AND (process_access_rights contains 'contacts' OR target_path contains 'Contacts')

📊 Metadata

CVE ID: CVE-2024-27881

CVSS v3 Score: 5.3 (MEDIUM)

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

CWE: CWE-359

Published: July 29, 2024

Last Updated: November 4, 2025

🔗 References

http://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2024/Jul/18 Mailing List,Third Party Advisory
http://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2024/Jul/19 Mailing List,Third Party Advisory
http://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2024/Jul/20 Mailing List,Third Party Advisory
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT214118 Vendor Advisory
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT214119 Vendor Advisory
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT214120 Vendor Advisory
http://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2024/Jul/18 Mailing List,Third Party Advisory
http://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2024/Jul/19 Mailing List,Third Party Advisory
http://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2024/Jul/20 Mailing List,Third Party Advisory
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT214118 Vendor Advisory
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT214119 Vendor Advisory
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT214120 Vendor Advisory
https://support.apple.com/kb/HT214118
https://support.apple.com/kb/HT214119
https://support.apple.com/kb/HT214120

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