CVE-2024-44215

Vulnerability

Overview

CVE-2024-44215 is an information disclosure vulnerability in Apple's image processing code. The issue arises from insufficient bounds checking when handling image data, which can lead to the exposure of process memory contents. Apple addressed the flaw with improved validation checks.

Exploitation

An attacker can trigger the vulnerability by crafting a malicious image file. If a user processes this image—for example, by viewing it in an application that uses the affected image parsing library—the attacker may cause the system to leak portions of process memory. No special privileges are required; the attack can be delivered remotely via email, web pages, or messaging.

Impact

Successful exploitation results in the disclosure of process memory, which may contain sensitive information such as cryptographic keys, user data, or other confidential material. The CVSS v3 base score of 5.5 (Medium) reflects the potential for confidentiality impact without requiring authentication.

Mitigation

Apple has released patches for the vulnerability across multiple operating systems: iOS 17.7.1 and iPadOS 17.7.1, iOS 18.1 and iPadOS 18.1, macOS Sequoia 15.1, macOS Sonoma 14.7.1, macOS Ventura 13.7.1, tvOS 18.1, visionOS 2.1, and watchOS 11.1 [1][2][3][4]. Users are advised to update their devices to the latest available versions. No workarounds have been published.