CVE-2024-40846
📋 TL;DR
A memory handling vulnerability in macOS video processing allows malicious video files to cause application crashes. This affects users running macOS versions before Sonoma 14.7 or Sequoia 15 who process untrusted video files. The vulnerability could lead to denial of service through unexpected application termination.
💻 Affected Systems
- macOS
📦 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
Potential for arbitrary code execution if memory corruption can be leveraged beyond denial of service, though not confirmed in this advisory.
Likely Case
Unexpected application termination (denial of service) when processing malicious video files.
If Mitigated
Minimal impact if systems are patched and users avoid processing untrusted video files.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires user interaction to open/process a malicious video file. No public exploit code is mentioned in the references.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: macOS Sonoma 14.7, macOS Sequoia 15
Vendor Advisory: https://support.apple.com/en-us/121238
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Open System Settings > General > Software Update. 2. Install available updates for macOS Sonoma 14.7 or Sequoia 15. 3. Restart the system when prompted.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Avoid untrusted video files
allDo not open video files from untrusted sources until systems are patched.
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement application control to restrict video file processing from untrusted sources.
- Use network filtering to block video file downloads from untrusted websites.
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check macOS version: if running macOS Sonoma earlier than 14.7 or Sequoia earlier than 15, the system is vulnerable.Check Version:
sw_versVerify Fix Applied:
Verify macOS version is Sonoma 14.7 or Sequoia 15 or later.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Application crash logs related to video processing components
- Unexpected termination of applications handling video files
Network Indicators:
- Downloads of video files from suspicious sources
SIEM Query:
source="application.log" AND (event="crash" OR event="terminated") AND process="*video*"