Detect Apple Multiple Products Buffer Overflow Exploitation (CVE-2025-31277) in Microsoft Sentinel
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
KQL Detection Query
let suspiciousAppleProcs = dynamic(["mdmclient", "mobileassetd", "softwareupdated", "nsurlsessiond", "trustd", "accountsd", "apsd"]);
let timeWindow = 1h;
union DeviceProcessEvents, DeviceEvents
| where Timestamp > ago(timeWindow)
| where DeviceType in ("Mac", "iOS") or OSPlatform has_any ("macOS", "iOS", "iPadOS")
| where (ActionType in ("ProcessCreated", "ProcessCrashed", "ExceptionThrown") and FileName in~ (suspiciousAppleProcs))
or (ActionType == "ProcessCrashed" and ProcessCommandLine has_any ("overflow", "heap", "stack", "corrupt"))
or (ActionType == "ProcessCreated" and InitiatingProcessFileName in~ (suspiciousAppleProcs) and FileName in~ ("sh", "bash", "zsh", "python3", "perl", "ruby"))
| extend RiskScore = case(
ActionType == "ProcessCrashed" and FileName in~ (suspiciousAppleProcs), 90,
ActionType == "ProcessCreated" and InitiatingProcessFileName in~ (suspiciousAppleProcs) and FileName in~ ("sh", "bash", "zsh"), 85,
70
)
| where RiskScore >= 70
| project Timestamp, DeviceName, DeviceId, AccountName, ActionType, FileName, ProcessCommandLine, InitiatingProcessFileName, InitiatingProcessCommandLine, RiskScore
| sort by RiskScore desc, Timestamp descIdentifies suspicious process behavior on Apple devices consistent with CVE-2025-31277 buffer overflow exploitation, including process crashes of Apple system daemons and unexpected shell spawning from Apple system processes.
Data Sources
Required Tables
False Positives & Tuning
- Legitimate Apple software update processes may trigger process restarts that resemble crashes
- Developer tools and Xcode build processes may spawn shells from system daemons during testing
- Third-party security tools performing system scans may cause transient process anomalies
- Beta macOS or iOS software installations may exhibit unstable daemon behavior unrelated to exploitation
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
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Get the full detection package for CVE-2025-31277 including response playbook, investigation guide, and atomic red team tests.