CVE-2025-24203: Apple iPadOS Privilege Escalation Flaw

CVE-2025-24203 Overview

CVE-2025-24203 is a file system security vulnerability affecting multiple Apple operating systems that allows a malicious application to modify protected parts of the file system. The vulnerability stems from insufficient validation checks in file system operations, which Apple addressed with improved checks in subsequent security updates.

This vulnerability requires local access and user interaction to exploit, making it a concerning security issue for organizations with Apple device deployments. A successful exploit could allow an attacker to bypass file system protections and modify sensitive system files or configurations.

Critical Impact

Malicious applications can bypass file system protections to modify protected system files, potentially leading to persistent compromise, security control bypass, or system integrity violations on affected Apple devices.

Affected Products

• Apple macOS Ventura (versions prior to 13.7.5)
• Apple macOS Sequoia (versions prior to 15.4)
• Apple macOS Sonoma (versions prior to 14.7.5)
• Apple iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4
• Apple iPadOS 17.7.6
• Apple tvOS 18.4
• Apple visionOS 2.4
• Apple watchOS 11.4

Discovery Timeline

• March 31, 2025 - CVE-2025-24203 published to NVD
• November 12, 2025 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-24203

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability exists in the file system access control mechanisms across Apple's operating system family. The flaw allows applications to circumvent the normally enforced file system protections that prevent unauthorized modifications to system-critical files and directories.

Apple's operating systems implement multiple layers of file system protection, including System Integrity Protection (SIP) and sandboxing mechanisms. This vulnerability represents a bypass of these protections, enabling apps to write to locations that should be restricted. The local attack vector requires an attacker to have already gained code execution on the target device, typically through a malicious application or by chaining with another vulnerability.

The vulnerability has no impact on data confidentiality but poses a significant integrity risk, as attackers could modify system configurations, security settings, or plant persistent backdoors in protected locations.

Root Cause

The root cause of CVE-2025-24203 lies in insufficient validation checks within the file system operations. Apple's advisory indicates the issue was addressed with "improved checks," suggesting that the vulnerable code path failed to properly validate file operation requests before allowing access to protected file system regions.

This type of vulnerability often occurs when authorization checks are missing, incomplete, or can be bypassed through specific sequences of operations. The vulnerability affects the integrity of protected file system areas without impacting confidentiality, indicating the checks specifically failed during write operations rather than read operations.

Attack Vector

Exploitation of CVE-2025-24203 requires local access to the target device with low privileges. The attacker must convince a user to install and run a malicious application, which then leverages the vulnerability to write to protected file system locations.

The attack flow typically involves:

1. The attacker distributes a malicious application to the target user
2. The user installs and launches the application (user interaction required)
3. The malicious app exploits the file system check bypass
4. Protected system files are modified, potentially establishing persistence or disabling security controls

Since no public exploit code is currently available and the vulnerability is not listed in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, active exploitation in the wild has not been confirmed at this time.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-24203

Indicators of Compromise

• Unexpected modifications to protected system directories such as /System/, /usr/, or other SIP-protected locations
• Anomalous file write operations from non-system applications targeting protected paths
• Modified system configuration files with timestamps that don't correspond to legitimate updates
• Unauthorized changes to security settings or launch daemons

Detection Strategies

• Monitor file system events for write operations to protected system directories from user-space applications
• Implement endpoint detection rules to alert on applications attempting to bypass SIP or sandbox restrictions
• Review application behavior logs for suspicious file system access patterns
• Deploy integrity monitoring on critical system files and directories to detect unauthorized changes

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable comprehensive file system auditing on macOS endpoints, particularly for protected system paths
• Configure SentinelOne agents to monitor for file integrity violations in system-critical locations
• Establish baseline file hashes for protected system files and alert on any deviations
• Monitor for unusual application behavior, especially privilege escalation attempts combined with file system modifications

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-24203

Immediate Actions Required

• Update all Apple devices to the patched versions: macOS Ventura 13.7.5, macOS Sonoma 14.7.5, macOS Sequoia 15.4, iOS 18.4, iPadOS 18.4/17.7.6, tvOS 18.4, visionOS 2.4, and watchOS 11.4
• Audit installed applications on managed devices and remove any unverified or suspicious software
• Ensure System Integrity Protection (SIP) is enabled on all macOS systems
• Restrict application installation sources to the App Store and identified developers only

Patch Information

Apple has released security updates addressing CVE-2025-24203 across all affected platforms. Organizations should prioritize deployment of these patches through their mobile device management (MDM) solutions.

Detailed patch information is available in the following Apple Security Advisories:

• Apple Support Document #122371
• Apple Support Document #122372
• Apple Support Document #122373
• Apple Support Document #122374
• Apple Support Document #122375
• Apple Support Document #122376
• Apple Support Document #122377
• Apple Support Document #122378

Workarounds

• Restrict application installation to trusted sources only (App Store or identified developers) through MDM policies
• Enable Gatekeeper with strict settings to prevent execution of unsigned applications
• Implement application allowlisting to prevent unauthorized software from running
• Monitor and restrict user privileges to prevent installation of potentially malicious applications

# Verify System Integrity Protection status on macOS
csrutil status

# Check for unexpected modifications to protected directories
ls -la /System/Library/
ls -la /usr/

# Review recently modified system files
find /System -type f -mtime -7 2>/dev/null