Detect Apple Multiple Products Buffer Overflow Exploitation (CVE-2025-31277) in IBM QRadar
Detects potential exploitation of CVE-2025-31277, a buffer overflow vulnerability (CWE-119) affecting multiple Apple products. This vulnerability is listed in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, indicating active exploitation in the wild. Successful exploitation may allow attackers to execute arbitrary code, escalate privileges, or cause denial of service on affected Apple devices and systems.
MITRE ATT&CK
QRadar Detection Query
SELECT
DATEFORMAT(starttime, 'YYYY-MM-dd HH:mm:ss') AS event_time,
sourceip,
username,
"Process Name" AS process_name,
"Parent Process Name" AS parent_process,
"Event Action" AS event_action,
QIDNAME(qid) AS event_name,
logsourcename(logsourceid) AS log_source
FROM events
WHERE
LOGSOURCETYPENAME(devicetype) IN ('Apple macOS', 'CrowdStrike Falcon Host', 'Jamf')
AND (
(
"Event Action" IN ('ProcessCrash', 'ExceptionThrown', 'SignalReceived')
AND "Process Name" IN ('mdmclient', 'mobileassetd', 'softwareupdated', 'nsurlsessiond', 'trustd', 'accountsd', 'apsd', 'securityd', 'notifyd')
)
OR (
"Parent Process Name" IN ('mdmclient', 'mobileassetd', 'softwareupdated', 'nsurlsessiond', 'trustd', 'accountsd', 'apsd', 'securityd')
AND "Process Name" IN ('sh', 'bash', 'zsh', 'python3', 'perl', 'osascript', 'ruby')
)
)
AND starttime > NOW() - 3600000
ORDER BY starttime DESC
LIMIT 500QRadar AQL query identifying Apple system daemon crashes and anomalous shell spawning from Apple system processes on macOS endpoints, correlating events over the past hour to surface CVE-2025-31277 exploitation attempts.
Data Sources
Required Tables
False Positives & Tuning
- Apple system daemons may restart during OS update cycles, generating crash-like events
- Enterprise endpoint management platforms may execute scripts in the context of system daemons
- Security scanning tools running on macOS may trigger anomalous process relationships
Other platforms for CVE-2025-31277
Testing Methodology
Validate this detection against 3 adversary techniques from Atomic Red Team. Each test below lists the behaviour to exercise and the telemetry you should expect to see. Executable commands and cleanup steps are available with Pro.
- Test 1Simulate Apple System Daemon Crash with Non-Zero Exit
Expected signal: Process crash event for 'trustd' (or mock process) with SIGSEGV signal, non-zero exit code, and EXC_BAD_ACCESS exception type visible in /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/ and EDR crash telemetry
- Test 2Spawn Shell from Apple Daemon Context (Post-Exploitation Simulation)
Expected signal: ProcessCreate event showing bash spawning /tmp/daemon_spawn_test.sh, with subsequent child processes for whoami, uname, id, and ls commands — EDR should record full process ancestry and command lines
- Test 3Generate Crash Report Artifact for Apple Daemon
Expected signal: File creation event in ~/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/ for trustd crash file; log collection agents (Elastic Agent, CrowdStrike) should ingest the .crash file and surface EXC_BAD_ACCESS exception type in SIEM
Unlock Pro Content
Get the full detection package for CVE-2025-31277 including response playbook, investigation guide, and atomic red team tests.