dbcve.org
macOSOperating system · Apple

CVE-2025-24277

HIGH · 7.8 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 →
81/100
Remediation priority · High
No privileges

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 parsing issue in the handling of directory paths was addressed with improved path validation. 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 gain root 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 confidence

A path validation vulnerability in macOS allows a local application to escalate privileges to root by exploiting improper parsing of directory paths. The fix involves improved path validation to prevent directory traversal or path manipulation attacks that could grant unauthorized elevated access.

MitigationApply the macOS security updates (Ventura 13.7.5, Sonoma 14.7.5, or Sequoia 15.4) to all affected systems to address the path validation weakness.

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
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 checks

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

  1. Check installed macOS version
    Run `sw_vers -productVersion` in Terminal or click Apple menu > About This Mac to view the version number
    Affected if The version is 13.0 to 13.7.4, 14.0 to 14.7.4, or 15.0 to 15.3 (falls within the unpatched ranges)
  2. Confirm macOS build number
    Run `uname -a` or view About This Mac > System Report > Software > Build Number
    Affected if Build number corresponds to an unpatched version within the affected ranges listed

A system is affected if it runs any macOS version from 13.0 up to 13.7.4, 14.0 up to 14.7.4, or 15.0 up to 15.3, since these versions contain the vulnerable path validation code.

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 macOS security updates (Ventura 13.7.5, Sonoma 14.7.5, or Sequoia 15.4) to all affected systems to address the path validation weakness.

Recommended fix High confidence

macOS Ventura 13.7.5, macOS Sonoma 14.7.5, or macOS Sequoia 15.4

  1. Check current macOS version by clicking Apple menu > About This Mac.
  2. Back up your Mac using Time Machine or another backup method.
  3. Open System Settings > General > Software Update.
  4. Install the available update: macOS Ventura 13.7.5 for macOS 13.x, macOS Sonoma 14.7.5 for macOS 14.x, or macOS Sequoia 15.4 for macOS 15.x.
  5. Restart your Mac if prompted and verify the update was installed.
Caveat Standard macOS upgrade risks apply; ensure full backup before proceeding.

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

Fix this in macOS Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
5.0 hours of engineering $890
Get the upgrade done

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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-2025-24277 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