CVE-2025-24153
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 · uneditedA buffer overflow issue was addressed with improved memory handling. This issue is fixed in macOS Sequoia 15.3. An app with root privileges may be able to execute arbitrary code with kernel 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 · moderate confidenceBuffer overflow vulnerability in macOS Sequoia kernel allows an application running with root privileges to escalate to kernel-level code execution. The fix in macOS Sequoia 15.3 implements improved memory handling to prevent the overflow.
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
- High
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/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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Verify macOS versionRun 'sw_vers -productVersion' in Terminal or check System Settings > About > macOS VersionAffected if Version is below 15.3 (e.g., 15.0, 15.1, 15.2)
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Confirm kernel patch stateCheck if Security Update 2025-001 or later is installed via System Settings > General > Software UpdateAffected if No security updates dated after February 2025 are installed on versions below 15.3
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Identify running root-privileged processesRun 'ps -eo pid,user,comm' and filter for processes where user is 'root' that were not launched by Apple system componentsAffected if Untrusted or third-party applications are running as root
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Audit executable locations for root-owned binariesCheck /Applications, ~/Applications, and /tmp for newly installed applications with root ownership using 'ls -la'Affected if Unfamiliar applications with root privileges exist in these directories
System is affected if macOS version is below 15.3 AND untrusted or third-party root-privileged applications can execute on the system.
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 macOS Sequoia 15.3 or later security update. Since the vulnerability requires a root-privileged app to exploit, prioritize patching and restrict execution of untrusted root-level applications.
macOS Sequoia 15.3
- Back up your Mac using Time Machine or another backup solution before performing any system update
- Open System Settings on your Mac
- Navigate to General > Software Update
- Ensure your Mac is connected to power and stable internet
- Install macOS Sequoia 15.3 or later when the update becomes available
- Restart your Mac when prompted to complete the installation
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,152.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-24153 — 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-2025-24153 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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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.
- 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