dbcve.org
IpadosOperating system · Apple

CVE-2025-43221

HIGH · 7.1 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-07-30
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 2.6 / 15.6 or later.
See remediation →
74/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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
An out-of-bounds access issue was addressed with improved bounds checking. This issue is fixed in iOS 18.6 and iPadOS 18.6, macOS Sequoia 15.6, tvOS 18.6, visionOS 2.6. Processing a maliciously crafted media file may lead to unexpected app termination or corrupt process memory.

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

Out-of-bounds memory access vulnerability in Apple's media processing framework affecting iOS, iPadOS, macOS, tvOS, and visionOS. Processing a maliciously crafted media file (image, video, or audio) can trigger the vulnerability, leading to either denial of service (app crash) or memory corruption that could potentially be exploited for code execution.

MitigationApply vendor patches by updating all affected Apple devices to iOS 18.6/iPadOS 18.6, macOS Sequoia 15.6, tvOS 18.6, or visionOS 2.6. Until patched, avoid opening media files from untrusted sources.

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:< 18.6
Iphone OsOperating system
Affected:< 18.6
macOSOperating system
Affected:< 15.6
TvosOperating system
Affected:< 18.6
VisionosOperating system
Affected:< 2.6

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
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/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 version on iPhone
    Go to Settings > General > About on the device and note the 'Version' number
    Affected if Version is less than 18.6 (for example, 18.5.x or earlier)
  2. Check iPadOS version on iPad
    Go to Settings > General > About on the device and note the 'Version' number
    Affected if Version is less than 18.6 (for example, 18.5.x or earlier)
  3. Check macOS version
    Click the Apple menu > About This Mac and note the version number under macOS
    Affected if Version is less than 15.6 (for example, 15.5.x or earlier)
  4. Check tvOS version
    Go to Settings > General > About > Version on Apple TV
    Affected if Version is less than 18.6 (for example, 18.5.x or earlier)
  5. Check visionOS version
    Go to Settings > General > About on the Vision Pro device and note the version number
    Affected if Version is less than 2.6 (for example, 2.5.x or earlier)

If the operating system version on any Apple device is below 18.6 for iOS/iPadOS/tvOS/visionOS or below 15.6 for macOS, the device is running a vulnerable version of the media processing framework.

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 2.6 / 15.6 / 18.6 or later
Fixed in 2.615.618.6
Interim mitigation

Apply vendor patches by updating all affected Apple devices to iOS 18.6/iPadOS 18.6, macOS Sequoia 15.6, tvOS 18.6, or visionOS 2.6. Until patched, avoid opening media files from untrusted sources.

Recommended fix High confidence

iOS 18.6, iPadOS 18.6, macOS Sequoia 15.6, tvOS 18.6, or visionOS 2.6 (depending on device)

  1. For iPhone users: Upgrade to iOS 18.6 by going to Settings > General > Software Update
  2. For iPad users: Upgrade to iPadOS 18.6 by going to Settings > General > Software Update
  3. For Mac users: Upgrade to macOS Sequoia 15.6 via System Settings > General > Software Update
  4. For Apple TV users: Upgrade to tvOS 18.6 via Settings > System > Software Updates
  5. For Vision Pro users: Upgrade to visionOS 2.6 via Settings > General > Software Update
  6. After upgrading, ensure the device is not processing untrusted media files until the update is complete
Caveat Standard Apple point-release upgrade; back up data before updating as a precaution

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

Fix this in Ipados Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,060
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,696.

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-2025-43221 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