CVE-2025-24129: Apple iPadOS Use-After-Free Vulnerability

CVE-2025-24129 Overview

CVE-2025-24129 is a type confusion vulnerability affecting multiple Apple operating systems that enables remote attackers to cause unexpected application termination. This vulnerability was addressed by Apple through improved type checking mechanisms in their January 2025 security updates.

Type confusion vulnerabilities occur when a program allocates or accesses a resource using an incompatible type, leading to out-of-bounds memory access, resource misinterpretation, or other undefined behavior. In this case, the flaw allows network-based attackers to trigger a denial of service condition without requiring any user interaction or authentication.

Critical Impact

Remote attackers can exploit this vulnerability over the network to cause unexpected application crashes, leading to denial of service across Apple's entire ecosystem including iOS, macOS, watchOS, tvOS, and visionOS devices.

Affected Products

• Apple iOS 18.3 and iPadOS 18.3 (and earlier versions)
• Apple macOS Sequoia 15.3 (and earlier versions)
• Apple visionOS 2.3 (and earlier versions)
• Apple watchOS 11.3 (and earlier versions)
• Apple tvOS 18.3 (and earlier versions)

Discovery Timeline

• January 27, 2025 - CVE-2025-24129 published to NVD
• November 03, 2025 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-24129

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability stems from a type confusion issue (CWE-843) in Apple's operating system components. Type confusion occurs when code does not properly verify the type of an object before performing operations on it, allowing an attacker to supply data that the application interprets as a different type than intended.

The vulnerability is exploitable remotely over the network without requiring authentication or user interaction. An attacker can craft malicious input that triggers the type confusion condition, causing the target application to access memory incorrectly and crash unexpectedly. While the primary impact is availability (denial of service), type confusion vulnerabilities can sometimes be escalated to achieve more severe outcomes depending on the specific implementation details.

The attack surface spans across Apple's entire device ecosystem, making this a widespread concern for organizations managing Apple devices. The network-accessible nature of this vulnerability means that devices exposed to untrusted networks are at heightened risk.

Root Cause

The root cause is a type confusion issue (CWE-843) where the application fails to properly validate object types before performing operations. When an object is accessed using an incompatible type, the application may misinterpret memory contents, leading to crashes or other undefined behavior. Apple addressed this by implementing improved type checking mechanisms to ensure objects are properly validated before use.

Attack Vector

The attack vector is network-based, allowing remote attackers to exploit the vulnerability without physical access to the target device. The attack requires:

• Network connectivity to the target device
• No user interaction required
• No authentication or privileges required
• Low attack complexity

A remote attacker can send specially crafted network requests that trigger the type confusion condition. When the vulnerable component processes this malicious input, it interprets the data using an incorrect type, resulting in unexpected application termination and denial of service.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-24129

Indicators of Compromise

• Unexpected application crashes or termination events on Apple devices
• Anomalous network traffic patterns targeting Apple services
• Crash logs showing type-related errors or memory access violations
• Repeated service restart events without user initiation

Detection Strategies

• Monitor system logs for unexpected application termination events across Apple devices
• Implement network intrusion detection rules to identify anomalous traffic patterns targeting Apple services
• Deploy endpoint detection and response (EDR) solutions capable of monitoring crash events and correlating them with network activity
• Review crash reports in Apple Console application for patterns indicating exploitation attempts

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable comprehensive logging on all Apple devices to capture application crash events
• Configure SIEM systems to alert on unusual patterns of application terminations
• Monitor for devices running outdated OS versions that remain vulnerable
• Establish baselines for normal application behavior to identify anomalous crash patterns

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-24129

Immediate Actions Required

• Update all Apple devices to the latest patched versions immediately
• Prioritize updates for devices exposed to untrusted networks
• Review network segmentation to limit exposure of vulnerable devices
• Enable automatic updates on all managed Apple devices

Patch Information

Apple has released security updates addressing this vulnerability across all affected platforms. Organizations should apply the following updates:

• iOS/iPadOS: Update to iOS 18.3 or iPadOS 18.3 - See Apple Support Article #122066
• macOS: Update to macOS Sequoia 15.3 - See Apple Support Article #122068
• visionOS: Update to visionOS 2.3 - See Apple Support Article #122071
• watchOS: Update to watchOS 11.3 - See Apple Support Article #122072
• tvOS: Update to tvOS 18.3 - See Apple Support Article #122073

Additional technical details are available through the Full Disclosure mailing list posts from January 2025.

Workarounds

• Implement network-level filtering to restrict unnecessary network exposure for Apple devices
• Use firewall rules to limit inbound connections to trusted sources
• Consider network segmentation to isolate vulnerable devices until patches can be applied
• Monitor for and block suspicious network traffic targeting Apple services

# Example: Verify iOS/iPadOS version via MDM command
# Ensure devices report version 18.3 or later
system_profiler SPSoftwareDataType | grep "System Version"

# For macOS, verify Sequoia 15.3 or later is installed
sw_vers -productVersion