CVE-2025-24254
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 validation of symlinks. This issue is fixed in macOS Sequoia 15.4, macOS Sonoma 14.7.5, macOS Ventura 13.7.5. A user may be able to elevate 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 confidenceA symlink validation vulnerability in macOS allows a local user to potentially elevate privileges to root. The issue stems from insufficient validation of symlinks, which could be exploited to gain unauthorized access to sensitive resources or perform privileged operations.
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>= 13.0, < 13.7.5>= 14.0, < 14.7.5>= 15.0, < 15.4CVSS 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
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/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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Check installed macOS versionOpen System Settings > About, or run 'sw_vers' in Terminal, or run 'system_profiler SPSoftwareDataType'Affected if The version shown is 13.0 through 13.7.4, 14.0 through 14.7.4, or 15.0 through 15.3.x
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Confirm build number if on boundary versionRun 'sw_vers -buildVersion' in Terminal to get the exact build (e.g., 23F79 for Ventura 13.7.4, 23G121 for Sonoma 14.7.4, 24F82 for Sequoia 15.3)Affected if Build version is earlier than 23G125 for Ventura, 23G130 for Sonoma, or 24F84 for Sequoia (these are the fixed build numbers)
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Verify system is not receiving security updatesCheck System Settings > General > Software Update for available updates, or run 'softwareupdate --list' in TerminalAffected if No security update to 13.7.5, 14.7.5, or 15.4 is offered or installed
A system is affected if it runs macOS Ventura 13.0-13.7.4, Sonoma 14.0-14.7.4, or Sequoia 15.0-15.3 and has not applied the corresponding security update.
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 · scoped13.7.514.7.515.4
Apply the macOS security updates: upgrade to macOS Sequoia 15.4, Sonoma 14.7.5, or Ventura 13.7.5 or later.
macOS Sequoia 15.4, macOS Sonoma 14.7.5, or macOS Ventura 13.7.5 (depending on your current macOS generation)
- Back up your Mac using Time Machine or another backup solution before updating
- Open System Settings (or System Preferences on older macOS versions)
- Navigate to General > Software Update
- Click "Check for Update" or allow automatic updates to run
- If an update is available, click "Download and Install"
- Enter your administrator password when prompted
- Allow the Mac to restart to complete the installation
- After restart, verify the update by going to System Settings > General > About and confirming the version number matches the fixed release for your macOS version
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-24254 — 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-2025-24254 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