macOSOperating system · Apple

CVE-2025-43244

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 race condition was addressed with improved state handling. 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 cause unexpected system termination.

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

A race condition in macOS kernel state handling allows a local application to trigger an unexpected system termination (kernel panic). The vulnerability has a CVSS 9.8 rating due to the ease of exploitation and complete system impact.

MitigationApply the macOS security updates (15.6, 14.7.7, or 13.7.7 depending on macOS version) to patch the race condition vulnerability.

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. Identify macOS version
    Click the Apple menu > About This Mac. Note the version number displayed (for example, 15.5, 14.6, 13.6). Alternatively, run 'sw_vers -productVersion' in Terminal.
    Affected if The version is less than 13.7.7, or falls between 14.0 and 14.7.6, or falls between 15.0 and 15.5.
  2. Confirm build number matches OS release
    Run 'uname -r' in Terminal to see the kernel release, then cross-reference with the major version found in About This Mac to ensure they align.
    Affected if The kernel version does not match an unpatched release as listed in the affected version ranges.
  3. Verify patch status via softwareupdate
    Run 'softwareupdate --list' in Terminal to check if any security updates are pending or have been installed.
    Affected if No security update corresponding to CVE-2025-43244 (or the equivalent macOS 15.6/14.7.7/13.7.7 update) appears in the list of installed updates.

A system is affected if it runs any macOS version below 13.7.7, between 14.0-14.7.6, or between 15.0-15.5, and has not received the corresponding security patch.

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 macOS security updates (15.6, 14.7.7, or 13.7.7 depending on macOS version) to patch the race condition vulnerability.

Recommended fix High confidence

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

  1. Back up important data using Time Machine or a reliable backup solution before proceeding with the update
  2. Connect your Mac to a reliable power source to prevent interruption during the update process
  3. Open System Settings (or System Preferences on older macOS versions)
  4. Navigate to General > Software Update (or click Software Update in System Preferences)
  5. Click 'Check for Update' to refresh the available updates
  6. If the security update appears, click 'Update Now' or 'Download and Install'
  7. Enter your administrator password when prompted and confirm the update
  8. Allow the update to download and install completely - do not interrupt the process
Caveat Security updates typically have minimal breaking changes; always review release notes before updating

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

Fix this in macOS Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
4.0 hours of engineering $750
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,200.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-43244 — 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 sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2025-43244 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