dbcve.org
IpadosOperating system · Apple

CVE-2025-31279

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-07-30
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 13.7.7 / 14.7.7 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
A permissions issue was addressed with additional restrictions. This issue is fixed in iPadOS 17.7.9, macOS Sequoia 15.6, macOS Sonoma 14.7.7, macOS Ventura 13.7.7. An app may be able to fingerprint the user.

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

A permissions issue in multiple Apple operating systems (iPadOS and macOS) allowed applications to fingerprint users by gathering identifying information through improper permission access. Apple addressed this with additional restrictions in the specified patch versions.

MitigationUpdate affected devices to iPadOS 17.7.9, macOS Sequoia 15.6, macOS Sonoma 14.7.7, or macOS Ventura 13.7.7. For managed environments, deploy patches through standard update mechanisms and verify compliance.

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:< 17.7.9
macOSOperating system
Affected:< 13.7.7>= 14.0, < 14.7.7>= 15.0, < 15.6

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. Identify the installed iPadOS version
    On the iPad, go to Settings > General > About > Version. Note the exact version number (e.g., 17.7.5, 18.0, etc.).
    Affected if The version is earlier than 17.7.9 (e.g., 17.7.8 or lower).
  2. Identify the installed macOS version
    Open Terminal and run: sw_vers -productVersion. This displays the exact macOS version (e.g., 13.7.6, 14.7.6, 15.5).
    Affected if The version is 13.7.6 or lower, 14.7.6 or lower, or 15.5 or lower.
  3. Confirm macOS build number for additional context
    Run: system_profiler SPSoftwareDataType | grep 'System Version' to see both version and build number.
    Affected if The system version matches the affected ranges in step 2.
  4. Determine if third-party apps have broad permission access
    On macOS, review which apps have permission to access System Preferences > Privacy & Security sections (Accessibility, Automation, etc.). On iPadOS, check Settings > Privacy & Security for app permissions.
    Affected if Apps with extensive privacy permissions are installed on an unpatched OS version.

A user is affected if their iPadOS version is below 17.7.9 or their macOS version is below 13.7.7, 14.7.7, or 15.6 depending on which major release they run.

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 13.7.7 / 14.7.7 / 15.6 or later
Fixed in 13.7.714.7.715.6
Interim mitigation

Update affected devices to iPadOS 17.7.9, macOS Sequoia 15.6, macOS Sonoma 14.7.7, or macOS Ventura 13.7.7. For managed environments, deploy patches through standard update mechanisms and verify compliance.

Recommended fix High confidence

iPadOS 17.7.9, macOS Ventura 13.7.7, macOS Sonoma 14.7.7, or macOS Sequoia 15.6 depending on current OS version

  1. Identify the current macOS or iPadOS version by navigating to System Settings > General > About
  2. Determine which upgrade path applies based on current version: macOS Ventura (13.x) → 13.7.7, macOS Sonoma (14.x) → 14.7.7, macOS Sequoia (15.x) → 15.6, iPadOS (17.x) → 17.7.9
  3. Back up all critical data using Time Machine or iCloud backup before initiating the update
  4. Install the recommended security update via System Settings > General > Software Update
  5. After installation, verify the version matches the target fixed release and restart if prompted

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

Fix this in Ipados Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,780
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-2025-31279 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