CVE-2025-24093: Apple macOS Auth Bypass Vulnerability

CVE-2025-24093 Overview

CVE-2025-24093 is a permissions issue affecting Apple macOS that allows applications to access removable volumes without user consent. This vulnerability stems from insufficient permission restrictions in macOS's volume access controls, enabling potentially malicious applications to bypass security mechanisms designed to protect user data on external storage devices.

Critical Impact

Applications can access removable volumes (USB drives, external hard drives, etc.) without requiring user authorization, potentially leading to data exfiltration, unauthorized file access, or malware propagation via removable media.

Affected Products

• Apple macOS Ventura (versions prior to 13.7.3)
• Apple macOS Sonoma (versions prior to 14.7.3)

Discovery Timeline

• January 27, 2025 - CVE-2025-24093 published to NVD
• November 03, 2025 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-24093

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability is classified as CWE-276 (Incorrect Default Permissions), indicating that macOS failed to properly enforce permission restrictions for application access to removable storage volumes. The flaw exists in the permission verification mechanism that should require explicit user consent before an application can read from or write to external media.

Under normal operation, macOS implements Transparency, Consent, and Control (TCC) mechanisms to prompt users when applications attempt to access protected resources including removable volumes. CVE-2025-24093 represents a bypass of these protective controls, allowing applications to circumvent the consent requirement entirely.

The vulnerability enables a local application to access removable volumes directly without triggering the expected user consent dialog. This breaks the fundamental security boundary that macOS maintains between applications and user-controlled external storage devices.

Root Cause

The root cause of CVE-2025-24093 lies in incorrect default permissions within macOS's volume access control subsystem. Specifically, the permission checks that should validate whether an application has been granted access to removable volumes contained logic flaws or insufficient restrictions. This allowed applications to access these protected resources without the proper authorization chain being enforced.

Apple addressed this by implementing additional restrictions in the permissions handling code to ensure proper enforcement of the user consent requirement.

Attack Vector

An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by creating a malicious application that silently accesses removable volumes connected to a macOS system. The attack scenario involves:

1. A user downloads or installs a seemingly legitimate application that contains malicious code
2. The application silently enumerates and accesses connected removable volumes
3. Without user consent dialogs appearing, the malicious app can read sensitive files from USB drives or external storage
4. Data can be exfiltrated to remote servers, or malware can be written to removable media for propagation

This vulnerability is particularly concerning for enterprise environments where removable media policies are critical for data loss prevention and supply chain security.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-24093

Indicators of Compromise

• Unexpected file access logs showing applications accessing /Volumes/ paths for removable media
• Applications accessing external volumes without corresponding TCC consent entries in the database
• Unusual disk I/O activity associated with removable media from non-authorized applications
• File system audit logs showing reads/writes to removable volumes by applications that should not have such access

Detection Strategies

• Monitor the TCC database (~/Library/Application Support/com.apple.TCC/TCC.db) for inconsistencies between granted permissions and application behavior
• Implement endpoint detection rules that alert on applications accessing removable volume paths without corresponding user consent events
• Use SentinelOne's behavioral AI to detect anomalous file access patterns targeting removable storage
• Review application sandbox profiles for unexpected removable media access capabilities

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable and monitor macOS Unified Logging for file system access events related to removable volumes
• Configure SentinelOne agents to track and alert on unauthorized removable media access attempts
• Implement file integrity monitoring on critical removable volumes in enterprise environments
• Review System Preferences > Security & Privacy > Privacy > Files and Folders for unexpected application permissions

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-24093

Immediate Actions Required

• Update macOS Ventura systems to version 13.7.3 or later immediately
• Update macOS Sonoma systems to version 14.7.3 or later immediately
• Audit installed applications for suspicious behavior related to removable media access
• Review and restrict application installation policies to prevent untrusted applications

Patch Information

Apple has addressed this vulnerability in macOS Ventura 13.7.3 and macOS Sonoma 14.7.3 by implementing additional restrictions in the permissions handling subsystem. Organizations should prioritize deployment of these updates across all macOS endpoints.

For detailed patch information, refer to:

• Apple Security Advisory for macOS Sonoma 14.7.3
• Apple Security Advisory for macOS Ventura 13.7.3

Additional technical details were disclosed in the Full Disclosure January 2025 Post and Full Disclosure April 2025 Post.

Workarounds

• Restrict the use of removable media through endpoint management solutions until patching is complete
• Implement application allowlisting to prevent unauthorized applications from running
• Use SentinelOne's device control features to limit or monitor removable media usage
• Consider disabling removable media access entirely for high-security workstations pending the update

# Check current macOS version to verify patch status
sw_vers -productVersion

# Example: Restrict removable media mounting (requires admin privileges)
# This can be managed via MDM profiles for enterprise deployment
sudo defaults write /Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration/autodiskmount AutomountDisksWithoutUserLogin -bool NO