dbcve.org
IpadosOperating system · Apple

CVE-2025-31182

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-03-31
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 2.4 / 13.7.5 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
This issue was addressed with improved handling of symlinks. This issue is fixed in iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4, macOS Sequoia 15.4, macOS Sonoma 14.7.5, macOS Ventura 13.7.5, tvOS 18.4, visionOS 2.4, watchOS 11.4. An app may be able to delete files for which it does not have permission.

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 symlink handling vulnerability in multiple Apple operating systems allows a malicious application to delete files outside its intended sandbox without proper permissions. The issue stems from insufficient validation of symlink targets during file operations, enabling privilege escalation through arbitrary file deletion.

MitigationApply the vendor-supplied patches by updating to iOS 18.4, iPadOS 18.4, macOS Sequoia 15.4, macOS Sonoma 14.7.5, macOS Ventura 13.7.5, tvOS 18.4, visionOS 2.4, or watchOS 11.4 as appropriate for affected devices.

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
IpadosOperating system
Affected:< 18.4
Iphone OsOperating system
Affected:< 18.4
macOSOperating system
Affected:< 13.7.5>= 14.0, < 14.7.5
TvosOperating system
Affected:< 18.4
VisionosOperating system
Affected:< 2.4

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 iOS or iPadOS version
    Go to Settings > General > About on the device and note the version number shown next to 'Version'
    Affected if The version is lower than 18.4
  2. Check macOS version
    Click the Apple menu > About This Mac and note the version number displayed (such as 13.x, 14.x, or 15.x)
    Affected if The version is 13.7.5 or lower, OR between 14.0 and 14.7.5 exclusive
  3. Check tvOS version
    Go to Settings > General > About TV > Version on the Apple TV device
    Affected if The version is lower than 18.4
  4. Check visionOS version
    Go to Settings > General > About on the Vision Pro device and note the version number
    Affected if The version is lower than 2.4

The device is affected if it runs any iOS, iPadOS, macOS, tvOS, or visionOS version below the patched release (18.4 for mobile/tvOS, 13.7.5/14.7.5 for macOS, 2.4 for visionOS).

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 2.4 / 13.7.5 / 14.7.5 or later
Fixed in 2.413.7.514.7.5
Interim mitigation

Apply the vendor-supplied patches by updating to iOS 18.4, iPadOS 18.4, macOS Sequoia 15.4, macOS Sonoma 14.7.5, macOS Ventura 13.7.5, tvOS 18.4, visionOS 2.4, or watchOS 11.4 as appropriate for affected devices.

Recommended fix High confidence

iOS 18.4, iPadOS 18.4, macOS Ventura 13.7.5, macOS Sonoma 14.7.5, macOS Sequoia 15.4, tvOS 18.4, visionOS 2.4, watchOS 11.4

  1. Back up your device data before performing any system update
  2. For iPhone and iPad: Go to Settings > General > Software Update and install iOS 18.4 or iPadOS 18.4
  3. For Mac: Open System Settings > General > Software Update and install macOS Ventura 13.7.5, macOS Sonoma 14.7.5, or macOS Sequoia 15.4 depending on your current macOS version
  4. For Apple TV: Go to Settings > System > Software Updates and install tvOS 18.4
  5. For Apple Vision Pro: Go to Settings > General > Software Update and install visionOS 2.4
  6. For Apple Watch: Open the Watch app on iPhone, go to My Watch > General > Software Update and install watchOS 11.4
  7. Verify the update was successful by checking the software version after restart

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

Fix this in Ipados Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation8.0 h
  • Implementation16.0 h
  • Testing12.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
40.0 hours of engineering $7,000
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $11,200.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-31182 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2025-31182 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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