External risk intelligence

macOS Privilege Escalation Logic Flaw Fixed in Sequoia 15.2

CVE advisorySeverity: CRITICAL (CVSS 9.8)

CVE-2024-54465

This vulnerability affects the local macOS operating system and requires an app to be present on the host to attempt privilege escalation. It is not a network-exposed service, gateway, or public-facing endpoint, making it very unlikely to be reachable over the internet.

Apple Macos

before 15.2

Halo Surface Signal: 1 out of 5 — much less likely to be public-facing.

External exposure likelihood

Horizon Alert

Summary of the vulnerability and why it matters

This advisory highlights a critical security vulnerability discovered in macOS that could allow an application to gain elevated privileges. While the issue is fixed in a recent update, it's important to confirm if your macOS systems are protected against this type of unauthorized access.

An app could gain higher access levels.
Privilege escalation impacts system control.
Confirming protection is the key action.

Attack Path

How an attacker could exploit the issue

An attacker could trick a user into installing a malicious app on their macOS device. If the app exploits this vulnerability, it could potentially gain higher privileges than it should have, allowing it to perform actions with elevated permissions. This issue is resolved in macOS Sequoia 15.2.

Requires a malicious app to be installed.
Vulnerable logic allows privilege escalation.
Elevated app permissions.

Live Threat

Current exploitation, exposure, and threat context

When supported by the advisory, a logic issue in macOS could allow a malicious application to elevate its privileges, potentially affecting system data and service behavior.

System integrity and data.
Malicious app execution.
Unauthorized system access.

Operational Fix

Recommended remediation, mitigation, and detection steps

The macOS operating system is affected by this vulnerability, meaning platform or infrastructure teams managing macOS endpoints are likely responsible. The first practical step is to identify all macOS devices within your environment, determine if any are business-critical or exposed to user interaction, and locate the accountable owner for each. Subsequently, a remediation plan should be developed based on the identified risk.

Platform and infrastructure teams.
Confirm macOS asset inventory and criticality.
Plan and coordinate OS updates.

Supplementary metadata

CVSS vector

Validate whether this threat affects your internet-facing exposure.

Halo Threat Intelligence helps prioritize remediation with Halo Surface Signal and H/A/L/O context. Start exposure validation with a free external attack surface trial.

Free EASM Trial See How Signal Works

Frequently asked questions

What is macOS Sequoia and how does it relate to this CVE?

macOS Sequoia is the Apple operating system that runs on Mac computers. It serves as the core platform that manages hardware resources, user accounts, and application permissions. CVE-2024-54465 specifically concerns a logic flaw within the system software that governs how applications request and receive permissions, which has been addressed in version 15.2.

What does this privilege escalation vulnerability actually mean?

This vulnerability is classified as CWE-281, which refers to improper preservation of permissions. In plain terms, the operating system fails to properly check or maintain the security boundaries intended for an application. Because of this logic error, a program that should have limited access could trick the system into granting it elevated, administrative-level control over your computer.

How does an attacker trigger this CVE-2024-54465 flaw?

The trigger requires the presence of a malicious application already installed on the local system. Simply browsing the web or receiving a file is not enough; the harmful code must be executed by the user. If no untrusted or malicious software is installed on the macOS device, the underlying logic flaw remains dormant and cannot be utilized.

Is my device at risk if it is connected to the internet?

According to Halo Surface Signal, this vulnerability is very unlikely to be reachable over the internet. Because the flaw exists within the local macOS environment and necessitates an already-installed app to execute, it does not function like a network-exposed service or a public-facing gateway that can be attacked remotely without interaction.

Do I need to do anything to secure my Mac against this?

The first step is to verify the current version of macOS on your devices. Since this issue is resolved in version 15.2, your primary goal is to identify which endpoints are running older versions and plan an update. Coordinating these updates across your devices ensures the system logic is corrected, preventing applications from improperly bypassing security controls.

References

Written by Nicholas Merritt

Nicholas Merritt is VP of Security Solutions at Halo Security. With more than 25 years across application security, vulnerability prioritization, and offensive security, he helps teams translate threat data into practical exposure validation and remediation focus. He authors Halo Threat Intelligence CVE advisories using Halo Surface Signal and H/A/L/O context to prioritize internet-facing risk.