CVE-2024-27842: Apple macOS Sonoma RCE Vulnerability

CVE-2024-27842 Overview

CVE-2024-27842 is a privilege escalation vulnerability in Apple macOS Sonoma that allows a malicious application to execute arbitrary code with kernel privileges. The vulnerability stems from insufficient checks in system components, enabling attackers to elevate privileges from user-level to kernel-level access, effectively gaining complete control over the affected system.

Critical Impact

Successful exploitation allows arbitrary code execution with kernel privileges, potentially leading to complete system compromise, persistent malware installation, and security feature bypass on affected macOS systems.

Affected Products

• Apple macOS Sonoma versions prior to 14.5
• macOS systems running vulnerable builds
• Enterprise and consumer Mac deployments without the May 2024 security update

Discovery Timeline

• 2024-05-14 - CVE-2024-27842 published to NVD
• 2024-05-14 - Apple releases macOS Sonoma 14.5 security patch
• 2024-12-09 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2024-27842

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability resides within macOS Sonoma's kernel-level components where insufficient validation checks allowed malicious applications to bypass security boundaries. The flaw enables local attackers to execute arbitrary code with elevated kernel privileges, which represents the highest level of access on macOS systems.

The vulnerability is classified under CWE-358 (Improperly Implemented Security Check for Standard) and requires local access with user interaction to exploit. When successfully exploited, an attacker gains complete control over the system's confidentiality, integrity, and availability, allowing them to read sensitive data, modify system files, and disrupt normal operations.

Root Cause

The root cause of CVE-2024-27842 is an improperly implemented security check within macOS kernel components. Apple's advisory indicates the issue was addressed with "improved checks," suggesting that the original validation logic failed to properly verify certain conditions before granting elevated privileges. This implementation weakness allowed crafted applications to bypass intended security restrictions and escalate from user-space to kernel-space execution.

Attack Vector

The attack vector for this vulnerability is local, requiring an attacker to have the ability to run code on the target macOS system. The attack flow involves:

1. An attacker creates or delivers a malicious application to the target system
2. The victim user launches or interacts with the malicious application
3. The application exploits the insufficient validation checks to escalate privileges
4. Arbitrary code executes with kernel-level privileges, bypassing macOS security protections

The exploitation mechanism takes advantage of weak boundary checks between user-space and kernel-space operations. Technical details regarding the specific kernel component and exploitation methodology were disclosed on the Full Disclosure Mailing List.

Detection Methods for CVE-2024-27842

Indicators of Compromise

• Unexpected kernel extensions or modules being loaded on macOS systems
• Applications requesting or achieving elevated privileges without legitimate justification
• System logs showing anomalous kernel-level operations or privilege transitions
• Unsigned or unknown applications executing with kernel privileges

Detection Strategies

• Monitor for unusual privilege escalation patterns using macOS Unified Logging (log stream)
• Implement application allowlisting to prevent unauthorized software execution
• Use endpoint detection tools to identify suspicious kernel-space activity
• Review system integrity protection (SIP) status and kernel extension approvals
• Monitor for applications bypassing Gatekeeper or notarization checks

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable and centralize macOS audit logs for kernel-level events
• Deploy SentinelOne Singularity for real-time behavioral analysis and kernel protection
• Establish baselines for normal kernel extension and kext loading patterns
• Configure alerts for any attempts to modify kernel-level security configurations

How to Mitigate CVE-2024-27842

Immediate Actions Required

• Update all affected macOS systems to macOS Sonoma 14.5 or later immediately
• Verify patch installation via System Settings > General > About or sw_vers command
• Review installed applications for any suspicious or unknown software
• Enable automatic updates to ensure timely security patch deployment
• Implement network segmentation to limit lateral movement if exploitation occurs

Patch Information

Apple has addressed this vulnerability in macOS Sonoma 14.5, released on May 13, 2024. The fix implements improved validation checks to prevent privilege escalation through the affected code path. Organizations should prioritize this update as the vulnerability allows kernel-level code execution.

Detailed patch information is available in the Apple Support Article and Apple Knowledge Base Article.

Workarounds

• Restrict application installation to only verified and notarized software from the Mac App Store or trusted developers
• Enable System Integrity Protection (SIP) if disabled: csrutil enable from Recovery Mode
• Implement strict user permission policies to limit application execution privileges
• Use macOS Gatekeeper to enforce strict code signing requirements
• Consider endpoint protection solutions with kernel-level monitoring capabilities

# Verify current macOS version
sw_vers

# Check System Integrity Protection status
csrutil status

# Review installed kernel extensions
kextstat | grep -v com.apple

# Enable Gatekeeper strict mode
sudo spctl --master-enable