CVE-2025-43252
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 · uneditedThis issue was addressed by adding an additional prompt for user consent. This issue is fixed in macOS Sequoia 15.6. A website may be able to access sensitive user data when resolving symlinks.
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 confidenceThis is a WebKit/browser vulnerability in macOS where a malicious website could access sensitive user data through symlink resolution. The attacker could create a symlink on the local filesystem via the browser that points to sensitive directories or files, bypassing normal access restrictions. The fix adds a user consent prompt before allowing symlink resolution, preventing unauthorized data access.
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
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
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 installed macOS versionRun 'sw_vers -productVersion' in Terminal or go to Apple menu > About This MacAffected if Version is earlier than 15.6 (such as 15.5, 15.4, 15.3, or older)
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Identify WebKit-based browsers in useList installed browsers that use WebKit engine, primarily Safari or third-party browsers built on WebKitAffected if Any WebKit-based browser is installed on a macOS system version < 15.6
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Verify symlink resolution behavior (optional confirmation)Attempt to have a website create a symlink to a sensitive directory via WebKit and observe if a user consent prompt appearsAffected if No consent prompt appears when a website attempts symlink resolution through the browser
A user is affected if their macOS version is below 15.6 and they use WebKit-based browsers like Safari, since the vulnerability allows malicious websites to bypass access restrictions via symlinks without user consent.
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
Update macOS to version 15.6 (Sequoia) or later. This is a system-level patch that requires applying the macOS security update.
macOS Sequoia 15.6
- Click the Apple menu in the top-left corner and select 'About This Mac' to verify your current macOS version
- If the version shows anything below 15.6, open System Settings
- Navigate to General > Software Update
- Allow macOS to check for available updates
- If macOS Sequoia 15.6 is available, click 'Update Now' or 'Upgrade Now' to install the security update
- Restart your Mac when prompted to complete the installation
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,456.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-43252 — 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-2025-43252 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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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.
- 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