CVE-2025-24150: Apple Safari RCE Vulnerability

CVE-2025-24150 Overview

CVE-2025-24150 is a command injection vulnerability affecting Apple Safari, macOS Sequoia, iOS, and iPadOS. The flaw stems from improper handling of files within the Web Inspector developer tool. When a user copies a URL from Web Inspector, the application fails to properly sanitize the input, potentially allowing specially crafted URLs to execute arbitrary commands on the affected system.

This vulnerability (CWE-77: Command Injection) enables attackers to inject and execute malicious commands through the clipboard mechanism when developers interact with URLs in Web Inspector. The attack requires user interaction but can lead to significant compromise of the affected system.

Critical Impact

Successful exploitation allows attackers to execute arbitrary commands on affected Apple devices when users copy malicious URLs from Web Inspector, potentially leading to complete system compromise with high impact to confidentiality, integrity, and availability.

Affected Products

• Apple Safari (versions prior to 18.3)
• Apple macOS Sequoia (versions prior to 15.3)
• Apple iOS and iPadOS (versions prior to 18.3)

Discovery Timeline

• 2025-01-27 - CVE-2025-24150 published to NVD
• 2025-11-03 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-24150

Vulnerability Analysis

This command injection vulnerability exists in the file handling mechanism of Apple's Web Inspector, a developer tool integrated into Safari and WebKit-based applications across Apple platforms. The core issue lies in how URLs are processed and sanitized when copied from the Web Inspector interface.

When a developer copies a URL from Web Inspector, the application passes the URL string through a processing function that fails to properly escape or validate special characters and command sequences. This oversight allows specially crafted URLs containing shell metacharacters or command injection payloads to be interpreted as commands when pasted into terminal applications or scripts.

The vulnerability requires user interaction (copying a URL), but the attack can be triggered against developers who routinely use Web Inspector for debugging web applications. Given that developers often work with elevated privileges and have access to sensitive systems, the potential impact of successful exploitation is significant.

Root Cause

The root cause of CVE-2025-24150 is the improper handling and sanitization of file data (specifically URLs) within the Web Inspector component. When URLs are copied to the clipboard, the application does not adequately escape shell metacharacters or validate the URL format to prevent command injection sequences. This represents a failure in the input validation and output encoding controls that should protect clipboard operations from being weaponized for command execution.

Attack Vector

The attack leverages a network-based vector where an attacker first presents a malicious URL containing command injection payloads to a victim developer. The attack flow proceeds as follows:

1. The attacker crafts a malicious URL containing embedded command injection sequences using shell metacharacters such as backticks, semicolons, or pipe operators
2. The victim navigates to a website or inspects a web resource containing this malicious URL
3. When using Web Inspector to debug or analyze the page, the developer copies the URL
4. Upon pasting the URL into a terminal, script, or command-processing application, the embedded commands are executed

The vulnerability requires no special privileges to exploit, though it does require the victim to interact with the malicious content by copying the URL from Web Inspector.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-24150

Indicators of Compromise

• Unusual command execution patterns originating from Terminal or shell applications immediately following Web Inspector usage
• Clipboard contents containing shell metacharacters embedded within URL strings (e.g., backticks, $(...), semicolons, pipe operators)
• Unexpected process spawning or network connections following developer tool activity in Safari
• Log entries showing command execution with URL-like strings containing injection payloads

Detection Strategies

• Monitor clipboard operations for URLs containing suspicious shell metacharacters or command sequences
• Implement endpoint detection rules to identify command execution patterns that correlate with Web Inspector activity
• Deploy behavioral analysis to detect anomalous command-line activity following Safari or web debugging sessions
• Use SentinelOne's behavioral AI engine to identify and block suspicious process chains originating from Safari or WebKit processes

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable detailed logging for Terminal and shell applications to capture command execution following clipboard paste operations
• Configure security monitoring to alert on Safari processes spawning unexpected child processes
• Implement network monitoring for unusual outbound connections from developer workstations
• Use application sandboxing and endpoint protection to limit the scope of potential command execution

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-24150

Immediate Actions Required

• Update all Apple devices to the patched versions: macOS Sequoia 15.3, Safari 18.3, and iOS/iPadOS 18.3
• Advise developers to avoid copying URLs directly from Web Inspector until systems are patched
• Review any systems where developers may have copied suspicious URLs from Web Inspector for signs of compromise
• Deploy SentinelOne endpoint protection to detect and prevent command injection exploitation attempts

Patch Information

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

• macOS Sequoia 15.3 - Available through Software Update or the Apple Security Advisory #122068
• Safari 18.3 - Available through Software Update or the Apple Security Advisory #122074
• iOS 18.3 and iPadOS 18.3 - Available through Settings > General > Software Update or the Apple Security Advisory #122066

Additional technical details are available through the Full Disclosure mailing list posts from January 2025. Debian-based systems using WebKit should refer to the Debian LTS Security Announcement.

Workarounds

• Temporarily disable or restrict access to Web Inspector in production environments until patches are applied
• Manually validate and sanitize any URLs before pasting them from Web Inspector into terminals or scripts
• Use alternative URL copying methods that do not rely on the Web Inspector clipboard functionality
• Implement strict application allowlisting to prevent unauthorized command execution

# Verify Safari version on macOS
/Applications/Safari.app/Contents/MacOS/Safari --version

# Check for macOS Sequoia version
sw_vers -productVersion

# Verify iOS/iPadOS version (on device)
# Settings > General > About > iOS Version