CVE-2025-43188
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 · uneditedA permissions issue was addressed with additional restrictions. This issue is fixed in macOS Sequoia 15.6. A malicious app may be able to gain root 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 confidenceThis is a privilege escalation vulnerability in macOS Sequoia where a malicious application could bypass permission restrictions to gain root-level system privileges. The vulnerability stems from insufficient access controls that were addressed with additional restrictions in the macOS Sequoia 15.6 security update.
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< 15.6CVSS 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
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check macOS versionGo to Apple menu > About This Mac > Overview tab, or run 'sw_vers -productVersion' in TerminalAffected if The displayed version is below 15.6 (for example, 15.5, 15.4, 15.3, etc.)
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Confirm build number (optional)Run 'uname -a' in Terminal or check System Information > Software > System VersionAffected if Build number corresponds to a version earlier than the 15.6 security update
If the installed macOS version is earlier than 15.6, the system is affected by this privilege escalation vulnerability and should be updated.
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 · scoped15.6
Apply the macOS Sequoia 15.6 security update to affected systems to patch the vulnerability. As a defense-in-depth measure, restrict application execution permissions and avoid running untrusted software.
macOS Sequoia 15.6
- Back up your Mac using Time Machine or another backup solution before starting the update
- Connect your Mac to power to ensure the update process is not interrupted
- Open System Settings (or System Preferences on older macOS versions)
- Click on 'General' in the sidebar
- Select 'Software Update'
- Wait for macOS to check for updates - if macOS Sequoia 15.6 is available, it will appear in the list
- Click 'Upgrade Now' or 'Download and Install' next to macOS Sequoia 15.6
- Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 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-2025-43188 — 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-2025-43188 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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