CVE-2024-23235: Apple iPadOS Race Condition Vulnerability

CVE-2024-23235 Overview

CVE-2024-23235 is a race condition vulnerability affecting multiple Apple operating systems. The flaw allows a local application to access user-sensitive data by exploiting a timing window during validation. Apple addressed the issue by introducing additional validation checks across affected platforms. The vulnerability is categorized under [CWE-362] (Concurrent Execution using Shared Resource with Improper Synchronization) and [CWE-200] (Information Exposure). Exploitation requires local access and user interaction, and the attack complexity is high. Apple resolved the issue in iOS 16.7.6, iPadOS 16.7.6, iOS 17.4, iPadOS 17.4, macOS Sonoma 14.4, tvOS 17.4, visionOS 1.1, and watchOS 10.4.

Critical Impact
A malicious application on an affected Apple device can win a race condition to bypass validation and access user-sensitive data across iOS, iPadOS, macOS, tvOS, visionOS, and watchOS.

Affected Products

Apple iOS and iPadOS prior to 16.7.6 and prior to 17.4
Apple macOS Sonoma prior to 14.4
Apple tvOS prior to 17.4, watchOS prior to 10.4, and visionOS prior to 1.1

Discovery Timeline

2024-03-08 - CVE-2024-23235 published to the National Vulnerability Database (NVD)
2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2024-23235

Vulnerability Analysis

CVE-2024-23235 is a race condition weakness present in Apple operating system components shared across iOS, iPadOS, macOS, tvOS, visionOS, and watchOS. A local application can exploit a narrow timing window between a security-relevant check and the subsequent use of the checked resource. Successful exploitation lets the application read data intended to be private to the user or another process. The confidentiality impact is high, while integrity and availability remain unaffected. Apple's fix introduces additional validation to eliminate the exploitable window.

Root Cause

The root cause is a Time-of-Check to Time-of-Use (TOCTOU) synchronization defect. The affected component validated a resource state without holding an appropriate lock, allowing another thread or process to modify the state before use. This class of bug maps to [CWE-362] and results in downstream information exposure covered by [CWE-200].

Attack Vector

Exploitation is local. An attacker must convince a user to install and run a malicious application on the target device. The malicious app then repeatedly triggers the vulnerable code path to win the race and retrieve sensitive user data. The high attack complexity reflects the difficulty of reliably hitting the race window on production hardware.

No public proof-of-concept, exploit database entry, or evidence of in-the-wild exploitation has been published for CVE-2024-23235. See the Apple Support Document HT214082 and related advisories for platform-specific fix notes.

Detection Methods for CVE-2024-23235

Indicators of Compromise

Applications installed outside of the App Store or from unverified developer certificates that request unusual entitlements or repeatedly access user-scoped resources.
Anomalous, high-frequency file or IPC access patterns from a single application process, consistent with race-condition brute-forcing.
Devices running Apple operating system versions below iOS/iPadOS 16.7.6, iOS/iPadOS 17.4, macOS Sonoma 14.4, tvOS 17.4, watchOS 10.4, or visionOS 1.1.

Detection Strategies

Inventory managed Apple endpoints via mobile device management (MDM) and flag those below the fixed OS versions listed in the Apple advisories.
Review MDM app-install telemetry for sideloaded or enterprise-signed apps that were not vetted through corporate app review.
Correlate crash reports and unified logs on macOS for repeated faults in components accessing user-sensitive data.

Monitoring Recommendations

Enforce OS compliance policies that quarantine devices running vulnerable Apple OS builds until they are updated.
Monitor for new installations of unsigned or ad-hoc distributed applications on managed macOS and iOS fleets.
Track process behavior on macOS endpoints for repeated access attempts against protected user data stores such as ~/Library subdirectories and TCC-protected paths.

How to Mitigate CVE-2024-23235

Immediate Actions Required

Update all Apple devices to iOS 16.7.6 or 17.4, iPadOS 16.7.6 or 17.4, macOS Sonoma 14.4, tvOS 17.4, watchOS 10.4, or visionOS 1.1 or later.
Push mandatory OS updates through MDM and set a compliance deadline for user devices.
Restrict installation of third-party or sideloaded applications on managed devices.

Patch Information

Apple released patches on March 5, 2024 across the affected platforms. Refer to the vendor advisories for the specific platform builds:

Workarounds

No vendor-supplied workaround exists; patching is the only supported remediation.
Reduce risk by installing applications only from the Apple App Store and vetted enterprise channels.
Enable automatic OS updates on all Apple devices in the environment.

bash

# Verify installed macOS build meets the patched version
sw_vers -productVersion

# On iOS/iPadOS via MDM, require minimum OS versions in device compliance policy:
# iOS/iPadOS >= 16.7.6 or >= 17.4
# macOS >= 14.4
# tvOS >= 17.4, watchOS >= 10.4, visionOS >= 1.1