Apple iOS and iPadOS Incorrect Authorization
CVE-2025-24200 is a medium-severity incorrect authorization vulnerability in iOS and iPadOS from Apple, with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 6.1 out of 10. It can be exploited with physical access to the device by an unauthenticated attacker, without any action from a user. The record lists versions 15.8.4, 16.7.11, 18.3.1 as the first without the flaw, so updating iOS and iPadOS to one of those releases or later removes the exposure. CISA added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalogue on February 12, 2025, which means attacks have been observed in the wild.
Attackers are already exploiting this vulnerability, according to CISA.
What to do
- Update iOS and iPadOS to 15.8.4 or 16.7.11 or 18.3.1, whichever matches your release line, or a later version.
- Update iPadOS to 17.7.5 or a later version.
- Update Iphone OS to 15.8.4 or 16.7.11 or 18.3.1, whichever matches your release line, or a later version.
- CISA's required action: Apply mitigations per vendor instructions or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.
- Read the advisory on support.apple.com for workarounds and exact fixed builds.
Affected products and versions
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apple | iOS and iPadOS | before 15.8.4; before 16.7.11; before 18.3.1 | 15.8.4, 16.7.11, 18.3.1 |
| Apple | iPadOS | before 17.7.5 | 17.7.5 |
| Apple | Iphone OS | before 15.8.4; 16.0 up to, but not including, 16.7.11; 17.0 up to, but not including, 18.3.1 | 15.8.4, 16.7.11, 18.3.1 |
Version data comes from the organisation that assigned the CVE. Confirm against the vendor advisory before deciding you are unaffected.
How the severity score breaks down
- Attack vector
- PhysicalThe attacker must physically touch the device.
- Attack complexity
- LowNo special conditions are needed; the attack works reliably.
- Privileges required
- NoneNo account or login is needed.
- User interaction
- NoneNo action by a victim is required.
- Scope
- UnchangedImpact stays within the vulnerable component.
- Confidentiality
- HighAll data handled by the component can be read.
- Integrity
- HighData or code can be modified at will.
- Availability
- NoneAvailability is not affected.
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:P/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N. Scored by NVD.
| Scoring system | Score | Severity | Scored by |
|---|---|---|---|
| CVSS 3.1 | 6.1 | Medium | NVD |
| CVSS 3.1 | 6.1 | Medium | CISA (ADP) |
Official description
An authorization issue was addressed with improved state management. This issue is fixed in iOS 15.8.4 and iPadOS 15.8.4, iOS 16.7.11 and iPadOS 16.7.11, iOS 18.3.1 and iPadOS 18.3.1, iPadOS 17.7.5. A physical attack may disable USB Restricted Mode on a locked device. Apple is aware of a report that this issue may have been exploited in an extremely sophisticated attack against specific targeted individuals.
Source: the CVE record as published by its numbering authority, via NVD and CVE.org.
The underlying weakness: Incorrect Authorization
The product performs an authorization check when an actor attempts to access a resource or perform an action, but it does not correctly perform the check.
How developers prevent this class of flaw
- Divide the product into anonymous, normal, privileged, and administrative areas. Reduce the attack surface by carefully mapping roles with data and functionality. Use role-based access control (RBAC) to enforce the roles at the appropriate boundaries. Note that this approach may not protect against horizontal authorization, i.e., it will not protect a user from attacking others with the same role.
- Ensure that access control checks are performed related to the business logic. These checks may be different than the access control checks that are applied to more generic resources such as files, connections, processes, memory, and database records. For example, a database may restrict access for medical records to a specific database user, but each record might only be intended to be accessible to the patient and the patient's doctor.
- Use a vetted library or framework that does not allow this weakness to occur or provides constructs that make this weakness easier to avoid. For example, consider using authorization frameworks such as the JAAS Authorization Framework and the OWASP ESAPI Access Control feature.
Timeline
- CVE record published.
- Added to CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalogue.
- CISA published its SSVC assessment (exploitation: active, automatable: no, technical impact: partial).
- Deadline for US federal agencies to remediate, set by CISA.
- Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).
References
Advisories
- support.apple.com/en-us/122173Release Notes
- support.apple.com/en-us/122174Release Notes
- support.apple.com/en-us/122345Release Notes
- support.apple.com/en-us/122346Release Notes
Third-party and government advisories
- seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2025/Apr/7Mailing List, Third Party Advisory
- seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2025/Feb/7Mailing List, Third Party Advisory
- seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2025/Feb/8Mailing List, Third Party Advisory
- cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2025-24200US Government Resource
Other vulnerabilities in iOS and iPadOS
- 8.8 High severity
- 7.5 High severity
- 7.5 High severity
- 7.5 High severity
- 7.5 High severity
- 7.5 High severity
Recent Incorrect Authorization vulnerabilities
- 8.8 High severity
- 7.3 High severity
- 8.6 High severity
- 9.9 Critical severity
- 9.1 Critical severity
- 9.1 Critical severity
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