CVE-2024-40815: CVE-2024-40815: A race condition was addressed with additional validation. This issue is fixed in iOS 17.6…

What it is

A race condition was addressed with additional validation. This issue is fixed in iOS 17.6 and iPadOS 17.6, macOS Sonoma 14.6, macOS Ventura 13.6.8, tvOS 17.6, watchOS 10.6. A malicious attacker with arbitrary read and write capability may be able to bypass Pointer Authentication.

Exploitation evidence

First exploit evidence seen: 2025-01-31 (earliest date across the sources below).

Exploited in the wild

No source on this site lists in-the-wild exploitation yet (CISA KEV, VulnCheck KEV).

Public exploit code

GitHub proof-of-concept repositories

1 public repositories from 1 accounts, first seen 2025-01-31. Most starred: w0wbox/CVE-2024-40815 (13 stars), view repository.

Verify before running: public PoCs can be malicious. Read the code and only run it in an isolated lab. A PoC means exploit code is public, not that this CVE is exploited in the wild.

Sources: nomi-sec/PoC-in-GitHub.

How to fix it

Fixed versions

• apple ipados: upgrade to 17.6 or later
• apple iphone os: upgrade to 17.6 or later
• apple macos: upgrade to 13.6.8 or later
• apple macos: upgrade to 14.6 or later (affected from 14.0)
• apple tvos: upgrade to 17.6 or later
• apple watchos: upgrade to 10.6 or later

Derived from the NVD CPE configuration (versionEndExcluding / versionEndIncluding). Always confirm with the vendor advisory.

Vendor advisories and patches

• https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT214117 (Release Notes, Vendor Advisory)
• https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT214119 (Release Notes, Vendor Advisory)
• https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT214120 (Release Notes, Vendor Advisory)
• https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT214122 (Release Notes, Vendor Advisory)
• https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT214124 (Release Notes, Vendor Advisory)

MITRE ATT&CK mitigations for this chain

• M1031 Network Intrusion Prevention (for T1204.001) : If a link is being visited by a user, network intrusion prevention systems and systems designed to scan and remove malicious downloads can be used to block activity.
• M1017 User Training (for T1204.001) : Use user training as a way to bring awareness to common phishing and spearphishing techniques and how to raise suspicion for potentially malicious events.
• M1021 Restrict Web-Based Content (for T1204.001) : If a link is being visited by a user, block unknown or unused files in transit by default that should not be downloaded or by policy from suspicious sites as a best practice to prevent some vectors, such as .scr, .exe, .pif, .cpl, etc. Some download scanning devices can open and analyze compressed and encrypted formats

Detection Generic guidance

• Execution: Watch for the service process spawning shells or script interpreters (cmd.exe, powershell, sh, bash, python) via EDR process-tree rules.

Response checklist Generic guidance

1. Inventory: find every instance of the affected product and version (include internet-facing and forgotten ones).
2. Patch or mitigate per the vendor advisory; if you cannot patch, remove internet exposure or apply the vendor workaround.
3. Assume compromise if the system was exposed before patching: hunt for the indicators in the advisory and review logs back to the disclosure date.
4. Rotate credentials and secrets stored on or used by the affected system if compromise cannot be ruled out.