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macOSOperating system · Apple

CVE-2025-43232

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 macOS Sequoia 15.6, macOS Sonoma 14.7.7, macOS Ventura 13.7.7. An app may be able to bypass certain Privacy preferences.

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 macOS permissions bypass vulnerability where an application could circumvent Privacy preferences controls. The vulnerability has a critical CVSS score of 9.8, indicating it allows unauthorized access to sensitive system capabilities or data protected by macOS Privacy settings. It affects macOS Ventura 13.7.7, Sonoma 14.7.7, and Sequoia 15.6, with Apple addressing it through additional permission restrictions.

MitigationApply the appropriate macOS security update (Ventura 13.7.7, Sonoma 14.7.7, or Sequoia 15.6) to all affected systems. Verify that Privacy preferences remain enforced correctly after the 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
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. Check macOS version
    Open Terminal and run: sw_vers -productVersion
    Affected if The reported version is below 13.7.7 (for Ventura), below 14.7.7 (for Sonoma), or below 15.6 (for Sequoia)
  2. Identify macOS release name
    Run: sw_vers -productVersion and note the major version number (13=Ventura, 14=Sonoma, 15=Sequoia)
    Affected if The major version combined with the patch level falls within the affected ranges provided in the CVE
  3. Verify Security Update installation
    Check System Settings > General > Software Update for installed updates, or run: defaults read /Library/Preferences/com.apple.SoftwareUpdate.plist LastRecommendedMajorOSBundleIdentifier
    Affected if The system shows no corresponding security update (13.7.7, 14.7.7, or 15.6) installed for the detected macOS version

A system is affected if it runs macOS Ventura below 13.7.7, Sonoma below 14.7.7, or Sequoia below 15.6, and has not received the corresponding Apple security update.

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

Apply the appropriate macOS security update (Ventura 13.7.7, Sonoma 14.7.7, or Sequoia 15.6) to all affected systems. Verify that Privacy preferences remain enforced correctly after the update.

Recommended fix High confidence

macOS Ventura 13.7.7, macOS Sonoma 14.7.7, or macOS Sequoia 15.6 (depending on your current major version)

  1. Back up your Mac using Time Machine or another backup method before upgrading
  2. For macOS Ventura (13.x) users: Upgrade to macOS Ventura 13.7.7 or later
  3. For macOS Sonoma (14.x) users: Upgrade to macOS Sonoma 14.7.7 or later
  4. For macOS Sequoia (15.x) users: Upgrade to macOS Sequoia 15.6 or later
  5. After upgrading, verify the system reports the updated version in System Settings > General > About
Caveat Standard macOS upgrade considerations apply - review app compatibility and ensure adequate disk space before upgrading

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

Fix this in macOS 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-2025-43232 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