iPadOS, macOS, Kernel Memory Corruption, CVE-2025-24118 (Critical)

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CVE-2025-24118 is a critical vulnerability affecting iPadOS and macOS systems, specifically iPadOS 17.7.4, macOS Sequoia 15.3, and macOS Sonoma 14.7.3. The issue stems from improper memory handling in the kernel, allowing a malicious app to exploit this flaw to cause unexpected system termination or write to kernel memory. This could lead to arbitrary code execution with kernel privileges, compromising the entire system. The vulnerability was addressed by Apple through improved memory management in the mentioned updates. The CVSS 4.0 severity score highlights its critical nature due to the potential for complete system takeover.

DailyCVE Form:

Platform: iPadOS, macOS

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Version: iPadOS 17.7.4, macOS Sequoia 15.3, macOS Sonoma 14.7.3

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Vulnerability: Kernel Memory Corruption

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Severity: Critical

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Date: 01/27/2025

What Undercode Say:

To exploit CVE-2025-24118, an attacker would craft a malicious app designed to trigger improper memory handling in the kernel. This could involve sending specially crafted inputs to the kernel, causing memory corruption and allowing the attacker to overwrite kernel memory. Proof-of-concept (PoC) code for such an exploit would typically involve low-level programming in C or assembly to manipulate memory addresses.

Exploitation Commands:

  1. Compile a malicious app using Xcode targeting vulnerable macOS/iPadOS versions.
  2. Use `lldb` or `gdb` to debug and identify memory corruption points.
  3. Craft payloads to overwrite kernel memory using `mmap` or mach_vm_allocate.

Protection Measures:

  1. Update to the latest versions: iPadOS 17.7.4, macOS Sequoia 15.3, or macOS Sonoma 14.7.3.
  2. Enable System Integrity Protection (SIP) on macOS: csrutil enable.
  3. Use endpoint protection tools to detect malicious apps attempting kernel exploitation.

Analytics:

  • Kernel memory corruption vulnerabilities are rare but highly critical due to their potential for system-wide compromise.
  • Apple’s swift patch release indicates the severity of this issue.

References:

Code Snippet (Hypothetical PoC):

include <mach/mach.h>
include <stdio.h>
int main() {
mach_port_t port = mach_host_self();
mach_vm_address_t address = 0;
kern_return_t kr = mach_vm_allocate(port, &address, 4096, VM_FLAGS_ANYWHERE);
if (kr != KERN_SUCCESS) {
printf("Exploit failed: %d\n", kr);
return 1;
}
printf("Memory allocated at: %p\n", (void)address);
return 0;
}

This code demonstrates basic memory allocation in the kernel space, which could be manipulated in an exploit. Always use such knowledge ethically and responsibly.

References:

Reported By: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-24118
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