CVE-2025-24135
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 · uneditedThis issue was addressed with improved message validation. This issue is fixed in macOS Sequoia 15.3. An app may be able to gain elevated privileges.
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 · low confidenceA vulnerability in macOS allowed an application to potentially gain elevated privileges due to insufficient message validation. The issue was addressed with improved validation checks and is corrected in macOS Sequoia 15.3.
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< 15.3CVSS 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
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check installed macOS versionGo to Apple menu > About This Mac > General tab, or run 'sw_vers' in TerminalAffected if The displayed version is earlier than 15.3 (e.g., 15.2, 15.1, 15.0, or any earlier major version)
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Confirm macOS build numberRun 'sw_vers -buildVersion' in Terminal to see the specific buildAffected if Build number is older than the build included in macOS 15.3 security update
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Check for available software updatesGo to System Settings > General > Software Update, or run 'softwareupdate -l' in TerminalAffected if An update to macOS 15.3 or later is available and not yet installed
You are affected if your macOS version is earlier than 15.3 and the security update has not been applied.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 · scoped15.3
Apply the macOS Sequoia 15.3 security update to remediate the privilege escalation vulnerability.
macOS Sequoia 15.3
- Check current macOS version by clicking the Apple menu and selecting About This Mac
- Back up important data using Time Machine or another backup method
- Open System Settings and navigate to General > Software Update
- Click Check for Update and wait for macOS Sequoia 15.3 to appear
- Click Download and Install to download and install the update
- Restart the computer when prompted to complete the installation
- Verify the update was successful by checking About This Mac shows version 15.3
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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 locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-24135 — 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 sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2025-24135 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- 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