CVE-2025-24085: Critical Apple Zero-Day Vulnerability
Table of Contents:
What is CVE-2025-24085?
How Does the Vulnerability Work?
Which Devices Are Affected?
What Has Apple Done?
Why is this a big deal?
What Should Organizations Do?
Summary of the Vulnerability
FAQ
CVE-2025-24085: Critical Apple Zero-Day Vulnerability
Are you putting your Apple devices at risk? A severe vulnerability, CVE-2025-24085, has been uncovered in Apple’s Core Media framework, impacting several Apple operating systems. This flaw could allow malicious applications to gain control of your devices.
What is CVE-2025-24085?
It is a critical vulnerability found in Apple’s Core Media framework. This flaw allows applications with malicious intent to gain elevated privileges on affected devices. These elevated permissions potentially lead to unauthorized access.
How Does the Vulnerability Work?
This vulnerability is rooted in a “use-after-free” (UAF) memory management issue. This means that after a memory space is freed, an application continues to access it. Core Media, a central component for media processing on Apple platforms, contains this weakness.
If successfully exploited, this flaw opens the door to:
- Arbitrary code execution
- System compromise
Which Devices Are Affected?
The range of devices affected is extensive. It covers a variety of Apple products. The vulnerability impacts:
- iPhones from the XS model onwards
- iPad Pro 13-inch and 12.9-inch (3rd generation and later)
- iPad Air (3rd generation and later)
- iPad mini (5th generation and later)
- Macs running macOS Sequoia
- Apple Watches Series 6 and newer
- Apple TVs, including HD and 4K models
- Vision Pro headset running visionOS
This broad reach highlights the seriousness of this security risk.
What Has Apple Done?
Recognizing the threat, Apple issued security patches for all affected platforms. They addressed CVE-2025-24085 in:
- iOS 18.3
- iPadOS 18.3
- macOS Sequoia 15.3
- watchOS 11.3
- tvOS 18.3
- visionOS 2.3
These updates focus on improved memory management, designed to eliminate the UAF vulnerability. Update your devices immediately. Attackers have already been exploiting this flaw.
Why is this a big deal?
The urgency surrounding this vulnerability comes from its active exploitation. Cybersecurity authorities, CISA (Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency) among them, have documented its use.
CISA added CVE-2025-24085 to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog on January 29th, 2025. Fortinet verified that threat actors were using it against federal networks. Therefore, US federal civilian agencies must fix vulnerable systems by February 19th.
What Should Organizations Do?
Cybersecurity firms advise organizational administrators to enforce minimum OS versions with security patches. You can do this through device management policies.
These are some strategies:
- Set compliance rules that block outdated software.
- Warn users running outdated software.
Summary of the Vulnerability
- Nature– Privilege escalation through a use-after-free bug in Apple’s Core Media framework.
- Impact– Malicious applications on a device could gain elevated privileges, potentially leading to unauthorized system control.
- Affected Platforms– Recent generations of iPhones, iPads, Macs, Apple Watches, Apple TVs, in addition to the Vision Pro.
- Exploitation Status– Exploited before the patch was released.
- Mitigation– Immediate installation of security updates released in early 2025.
This event reveals the ongoing challenges of platform security. Complex multimedia frameworks remain prime targets for attackers because of their close integration with system functions. Prioritize updating your devices right away. Incorporate the patches into broader security strategies.
Vigilance, as well as rapid patch deployment, remains the best defense against attacks that exploit memory corruption flaws in widely used consumer technology.
FAQ
What exactly is “use-after-free”?
Use-after-free (UAF) is a type of memory corruption vulnerability. It occurs when a program attempts to access memory that has already been released, leading to unpredictable behavior and potential security risks.
How do I update my Apple devices?
On your iPhone or iPad, go to Settings > General > Software Update. On your Mac, go to System Preferences > Software Update. Follow the on-screen instructions to download and install the latest updates.
What if I can’t update my device right away?
If an immediate update is not possible, you should limit the apps that you use. Be extra cautious when opening media files from untrusted sources. Limit network access for the affected device as much as possible until the update is applied.
Resources & References:
- https://www.rescana.com/post/critical-zero-day-vulnerability-cve-2025-24085-in-apple-s-core-media-framework-urgent-security-upda
- https://cyble.com/blog/apple-fixes-cve-2025-24085-security-update/
- https://blog.barracuda.com/2025/01/30/cybersecurity-threat-advisory-apple-iOS-zero-day-vulnerability
- https://www.cisa.gov/news-events/alerts/2025/01/29/cisa-adds-one-known-exploited-vulnerability-catalog
- https://www.lookout.com/threat-intelligence/article/vulnerability-affecting-apple-devices
