CVE-2025-31271
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 through improved state management. This issue is fixed in macOS Tahoe 26. Incoming FaceTime calls can appear or be accepted on a locked macOS device, even with notifications disabled on the lock screen.
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 confidenceA state management vulnerability in macOS allows FaceTime calls to appear and be accepted on locked devices even when lock screen notifications are disabled. The flaw bypasses the intended notification suppression behavior on the lock screen.
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< 26.0CVSS 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
- None
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check macOS versionRun 'sw_vers -productVersion' in Terminal and compare the major version number to 26.0Affected if The version is below 26.0 (e.g., 25.x, 24.x, etc.)
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Verify FaceTime application is installed and enabledCheck if FaceTime exists at /Applications/FaceTime.app and confirm it has been launched at least once (which registers it with the system)Affected if FaceTime app is present and has been activated on the system
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Confirm lock screen notification settings for FaceTimeOpen System Settings > Notifications > FaceTime and verify if 'Allow notifications' is toggled off for the lock screen, or use 'defaults read com.apple.FaceTime' to inspect notification preferencesAffected if Lock screen notifications appear to be disabled for FaceTime (the vulnerability bypasses this setting)
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Test lock screen behavior with FaceTimeWith FaceTime logged in and notifications configured as desired, lock the screen (Apple menu > Lock Screen) and have an incoming FaceTime call placed to the device from another sourceAffected if The FaceTime call notification appears on the lock screen despite notifications being disabled there
You are affected if running macOS versions prior to 26.0 and have FaceTime enabled, as the state management flaw allows lock screen notifications to bypass user-disabled settings.
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 · scoped26.0
Update to macOS Tahoe 26 or later to receive the improved state management fix that properly enforces lock screen notification settings.
macOS Tahoe 26.0
- Back up your Mac before initiating any system update
- Open System Settings (or System Preferences on older macOS versions)
- Navigate to General → Software Update
- Allow the system to check for available updates
- If macOS Tahoe 26.0 or later is available, select it and click 'Update' or 'Upgrade Now'
- Follow any on-screen prompts and allow the update to complete
- Restart your Mac if prompted to complete the installation
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 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-2025-31271 — 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-2025-31271 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
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