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IpadosOperating system · Apple

CVE-2025-31222

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-05-12
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 2.5 / 11.5 or later.
See remediation →
80/100
Remediation priority · High
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 correctness issue was addressed with improved checks. This issue is fixed in iOS 18.5 and iPadOS 18.5, macOS Sequoia 15.5, macOS Sonoma 14.7.6, macOS Ventura 13.7.6, tvOS 18.5, visionOS 2.5, watchOS 11.5. 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 confidence

This is a privilege escalation vulnerability in multiple Apple operating systems (iOS, iPadOS, macOS, tvOS, visionOS, watchOS). The vulnerability was addressed with improved checks, allowing a user to potentially elevate privileges beyond their intended access level.

MitigationApply the available security updates: iOS 18.5, iPadOS 18.5, macOS Sequoia 15.5, macOS Sonoma 14.7.6, macOS Ventura 13.7.6, tvOS 18.5, visionOS 2.5, and watchOS 11.5.

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:< 18.5
Iphone OsOperating system
Affected:< 18.5
macOSOperating system
Affected:< 13.7.6>= 14.0, < 14.7.6>= 15.0, < 15.5
TvosOperating system
Affected:< 18.5
VisionosOperating system
Affected:< 2.5
WatchosOperating system
Affected:< 11.5

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
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/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 checks

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

  1. Check iOS or iPadOS version
    On the device, go to Settings > General > About and look at the 'Version' field
    Affected if The version shown is less than 18.5 (for example, 18.4.x or earlier)
  2. Check macOS version
    Click the Apple menu > About This Mac. Look at the version number displayed (such as 15.4, 14.7.5, or 13.7.5)
    Affected if The version is 15.4 or earlier, 14.7.5 or earlier, or 13.7.5 or earlier. Specifically: any version below 13.7.6, or 14.0 through 14.7.5, or 15.0 through 15.4
  3. Check tvOS version
    On Apple TV, go to Settings > General > About and note the version number shown
    Affected if The version is less than 18.5 (for example, 18.4.x or earlier)
  4. Check visionOS version
    In the Vision Pro, go to Settings > General > About and check the version field
    Affected if The version is less than 2.5 (for example, 2.4.x or earlier)
  5. Check watchOS version
    On the paired iPhone, open the Watch app, go to My Watch > General > About and read the 'Version' entry
    Affected if The version is less than 11.5 (for example, 11.4.x or earlier)

If any of your Apple devices (iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, Vision Pro, or Apple Watch) run an OS version lower than the fixed releases (iOS/iPadOS 18.5, macOS 13.7.6/14.7.6/15.5, tvOS 18.5, visionOS 2.5, watchOS 11.5), your device is affected by this privilege escalation vulnerability.

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 2.5 / 11.5 / 13.7.6 or later
Fixed in 2.511.513.7.6
Interim mitigation

Apply the available security updates: iOS 18.5, iPadOS 18.5, macOS Sequoia 15.5, macOS Sonoma 14.7.6, macOS Ventura 13.7.6, tvOS 18.5, visionOS 2.5, and watchOS 11.5.

Recommended fix High confidence

iOS 18.5/iPadOS 18.5, macOS Ventura 13.7.6/Sonoma 14.7.6/Sequoia 15.5, tvOS 18.5, visionOS 2.5, watchOS 11.5

  1. Identify the affected Apple device (iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, Apple Vision Pro, or Apple Watch)
  2. Check the current OS version on the device in Settings > General > About (iOS/iPadOS/watchOS/visionOS) or System Settings > General > About (macOS/tvOS)
  3. Back up important data using iCloud or Finder/iTunes as a precaution before updating
  4. On iPhone/iPad: Go to Settings > General > Software Update and install iOS 18.5/iPadOS 18.5
  5. On Mac: Go to System Settings > General > Software Update and install the appropriate macOS version (Ventura 13.7.6, Sonoma 14.7.6, or Sequoia 15.5)
  6. On Apple TV: Go to Settings > System > Software Updates and install tvOS 18.5
  7. On Apple Vision Pro: Go to Settings > General > Software Update and install visionOS 2.5
  8. On Apple Watch: On the iPhone, open the Watch app, go to My Watch > General > Software Update and install watchOS 11.5
Caveat Standard iOS/macOS update considerations apply - review release notes for any feature changes; point releases typically have minimal breaking changes

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

Fix this in Ipados Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
20.0 hours of engineering $3,500
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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-2025-31222 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