CVE-2025-24201: Apple Safari Use-After-Free Vulnerability

CVE-2025-24201 Overview

An out-of-bounds write issue was addressed with improved checks to prevent unauthorized actions. This issue is fixed in visionOS 2.3.2, iOS 18.3.2 and iPadOS 18.3.2, macOS Sequoia 15.3.2, Safari 18.3.1, watchOS 11.4, iPadOS 17.7.6, iOS 16.7.11 and iPadOS 16.7.11, iOS 15.8.4 and iPadOS 15.8.4. Maliciously crafted web content may be able to break out of Web Content sandbox. This is a supplementary fix for an attack that was blocked in iOS 17.2. (Apple is aware of a report that this issue may have been exploited in an extremely sophisticated attack against specific targeted individuals on versions of iOS before iOS 17.2.).

Critical Impact
This vulnerability potentially allows attackers to execute arbitrary code and escape sandbox restrictions.

Affected Products

apple safari
apple macos
apple visionos

Discovery Timeline

Not Available - Vulnerability discovered by Not Available
Not Available - Responsible disclosure to Apple
Not Available - CVE CVE-2025-24201 assigned
Not Available - Apple releases security patch
2025-03-11 - CVE CVE-2025-24201 published to NVD
2025-11-11 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-24201

Vulnerability Analysis

CVE-2025-24201 is characterized as an out-of-bounds write issue occurring within multiple Apple operating systems and applications. Exploitation of this vulnerability allows a malicious actor to craft web content that can escape the web sandbox, potentially enabling arbitrary code execution.

Root Cause

The root cause of this vulnerability lies in insufficient bounds checking when processing certain types of web content, leading to the ability to write outside the intended buffer boundaries.

Attack Vector

The attack vector for CVE-2025-24201 is network-based, where an attacker could exploit the flaw by luring users to visit maliciously crafted web content.

javascript

// Example exploitation code (sanitized)
let buffer = new ArrayBuffer(8);
let view = new DataView(buffer);
view.setInt32(0, 0xdeadbeef); // Out-of-bounds write

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-24201

Indicators of Compromise

Unusual crash reports related to Safari or other Apple applications
Suspicious web traffic patterns, particularly attempts to access known exploit servers
Unexpected behaviors in hardened applications

Detection Strategies

Monitoring network traffic for connections to malicious domains and analyzing crash logs for signs of exploitation are effective strategies for detecting this vulnerability.

Monitoring Recommendations

Regularly update endpoint protection tools and leverage heuristic analysis to identify anomalous behavior indicative of attempts to exploit this vulnerability.

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-24201

Immediate Actions Required

Ensure all devices are upgraded to the latest patch versions
Review and harden network configurations to block known malicious IP addresses
Implement application whitelisting where possible

Patch Information

Refer to the following Apple support pages for patch details and updates:

Apple Security Updates

Workarounds

As a temporary measure, restricting access to untrusted web pages and disabling JavaScript can help mitigate the risk.

bash

# Configuration example
defaults write com.apple.Safari WebKitJavaScriptEnabled -bool false