macOSOperating system · Apple

CVE-2025-24088

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-09-15
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 26.0 or later.
See remediation →
84/100
Remediation priority · High
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
The issue was addressed by adding additional logic. This issue is fixed in macOS Tahoe 26. An app may be able to override MDM-enforced settings from profiles.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · moderate confidence

This is a local privilege escalation vulnerability in macOS where an application could bypass MDM (Mobile Device Management) profile restrictions and override settings that administrators intended to enforce system-wide. The vulnerability allows a malicious or compromised app to circumvent MDM-enforced configurations.

MitigationOrganizations should update affected macOS devices to macOS Tahoe 26 or later. MDM administrators should verify that profile enforcement is functioning correctly after the update and review device compliance status.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
macOSOperating system
Affected:< 26.0

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Check installed macOS version
    Run 'sw_vers -productVersion' in Terminal or go to Apple menu > About This Mac
    Affected if Version is below 26.0 (e.g., 25.x, 24.x, etc.)
  2. Verify MDM enrollment status
    Run 'profiles status -type enrollment' in Terminal or check System Settings > Privacy & Security > MDM Enrollment
    Affected if System shows as MDM-managed or enrolled
  3. Check active MDM configuration profiles
    Run 'profiles list' in Terminal to enumerate installed configuration profiles
    Affected if Any MDM-enforced profiles are installed on the system
  4. Inspect MDM restriction overrides
    Review system logs in Console app for 'profile' or 'mdm' related entries showing configuration changes, or check specific restriction settings in System Settings against expected MDM values
    Affected if Any enforced MDM settings appear to be overridden or not applying correctly

System is affected if running macOS version below 26.0 AND is enrolled in MDM with active configuration profiles, as the vulnerability allows those MDM restrictions to be bypassed.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 26.0 or later
Fixed in 26.0
Interim mitigation

Organizations should update affected macOS devices to macOS Tahoe 26 or later. MDM administrators should verify that profile enforcement is functioning correctly after the update and review device compliance status.

Recommended fix High confidence

macOS Tahoe 26.0

  1. Back up your Mac using Time Machine or another backup solution before proceeding with the update
  2. Connect your Mac to a stable internet connection
  3. Open System Settings (or System Preferences on older macOS versions)
  4. Click on 'General' in the sidebar
  5. Click on 'Software Update'
  6. Wait for the system to check for available updates
  7. If macOS Tahoe 26.0 is listed as available, click 'Upgrade Now' or 'Download and Install'
  8. Follow the on-screen prompts and allow the Mac to restart as needed
Caveat Review Apple's release notes for macOS Tahoe 26.0 for any app compatibility or feature changes before upgrading

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in macOS Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,750
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,800.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-24088 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2025-24088 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data