dbcve.org
macOSOperating system · Apple

CVE-2025-31189

HIGH · 8.2 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-05-29
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 13.7.5 / 14.7.5 or later.
See remediation →
85/100
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 file quarantine bypass was addressed with additional checks. 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 break out of its sandbox.

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 · high confidence

This is a sandbox escape vulnerability in macOS where a file quarantine bypass allows a malicious application to break out of its sandboxed environment and gain unauthorized access to system resources. The vulnerability involves insufficient validation checks in the file quarantine mechanism that can be exploited to execute code outside the app's sandbox boundaries.

MitigationApply the appropriate macOS security update: update to macOS Sequoia 15.4, Sonoma 14.7.5, or Ventura 13.7.5 (or later) to remediate the file quarantine bypass vulnerability.

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:< 13.7.5>= 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
Changed
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:N

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 go to System Settings > About to view the macOS version number
    Affected if The version is earlier than 13.7.5, or falls between 14.0 and 14.7.4, or falls between 15.0 and 15.3 (any version in the range < 13.7.5, >= 14.0 and < 14.7.5, or >= 15.0 and < 15.4)
  2. Confirm file quarantine is in use
    Open Terminal and run 'xattr -l' on a recently downloaded file from the internet, or check for 'com.apple.quarantine' extended attribute on any downloaded file
    Affected if The com.apple.quarantine extended attribute is present on downloaded files (file quarantine is active and the bypass could apply)
  3. Identify sandboxed applications
    Run 'ps -ax | grep -i sandboxed' or examine /Applications for apps that commonly use sandboxing (Mail, Safari, third-party App Store apps)
    Affected if Sandboxed applications are running or installed on the system

A system is affected if it runs any macOS version below 13.7.5, between 14.0-14.7.4, or 15.0-15.3, and has file quarantine active for downloaded content.

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: update to macOS Sequoia 15.4, Sonoma 14.7.5, or Ventura 13.7.5 (or later) to remediate the file quarantine bypass vulnerability.

Recommended fix High confidence

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

  1. Back up important data using Time Machine or another backup method
  2. Go to System Settings (or System Preferences on older macOS)
  3. Click on General in the sidebar
  4. Click on Software Update
  5. If an update is available, click Update Now or Upgrade Now to install macOS 14.7.5 (Sonoma) or 15.4 (Sequoia) or 13.7.5 (Ventura)
  6. Restart the Mac when prompted to complete the installation
  7. After restarting, verify the update by going to Apple menu > About This Mac to confirm the installed version
Caveat Standard macOS upgrade risks apply - ensure backup before updating; some older apps may be incompatible with newer macOS versions

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

Fix this in macOS Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
20.0 hours of engineering $3,480
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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-2025-31189 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