dbcve.org
macOSOperating system · Apple

CVE-2025-24181

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-03-31
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 13.7.5 / 14.7.5 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
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
A permissions issue was addressed with additional restrictions. This issue is fixed in macOS Sequoia 15.4, macOS Sonoma 14.7.5, macOS Ventura 13.7.5. An app may be able to access protected user data.

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 macOS permissions vulnerability that allowed an application to bypass restrictions and access protected user data. Apple addressed it with additional permission restrictions in the specified macOS versions.

MitigationApply the appropriate macOS security update (Sequoia 15.4, Sonoma 14.7.5, or Ventura 13.7.5) to all affected systems.

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:>= 13.0, < 13.7.5>= 14.0, < 14.7.5>= 15.0, < 15.4

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
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/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 checks

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

  1. Check installed macOS version via System Settings
    Open System Settings, scroll down and click 'About' in the 'General' section. Note the version number shown under 'macOS'.
    Affected if The version reads 13.7.4 or earlier, 14.7.4 or earlier, or any 15.0 through 15.3.x version.
  2. Check installed macOS version via Terminal
    Open Terminal and run: sw_vers -productVersion
    Affected if The output shows 13.0 through 13.7.4, 14.0 through 14.7.4, or 15.0 through 15.3.x.
  3. Verify build number for precise version (optional)
    Run: sw_vers -buildVersion in Terminal
    Affected if The build version corresponds to an unpatched release for your macOS major version.

You are affected if your macOS version is 13.7.4 or earlier, 14.7.4 or earlier, or any version between 15.0 and 15.3.x.

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 13.7.5 / 14.7.5 / 15.4 or later
Fixed in 13.7.514.7.515.4
Interim mitigation

Apply the appropriate macOS security update (Sequoia 15.4, Sonoma 14.7.5, or Ventura 13.7.5) to all affected systems.

Recommended fix High confidence

macOS Sequoia 15.4, macOS Sonoma 14.7.5, or macOS Ventura 13.7.5 (depending on your current macOS generation)

  1. Back up your Mac using Time Machine or another backup solution before proceeding with the update.
  2. Open System Settings (or System Preferences on older macOS versions).
  3. Navigate to General > Software Update.
  4. Wait for macOS to check for available updates.
  5. If macOS Ventura 13.7.5, macOS Sonoma 14.7.5, or macOS Sequoia 15.4 is available, click Update Now to download and install the security update.
  6. Follow the on-screen instructions and allow the Mac to restart as needed for the update to complete.
  7. After the update completes, verify the installed version by going to System Settings > General > About to confirm the macOS version matches the expected fixed release.
Caveat Standard macOS upgrade considerations apply - ensure backups exist, free disk space is available (requires several GB), and compatible apps are verified

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
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
12.0 hours of engineering $2,080
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,328.

Scan for this in your stack

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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-2025-24181 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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