macOSOperating system · Apple

CVE-2025-43253

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-07-30
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 14.7.7 / 15.6 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
This issue was addressed with improved input validation. This issue is fixed in macOS Sequoia 15.6, macOS Sonoma 14.7.7. A malicious app may be able to launch arbitrary binaries on a trusted device.

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

A vulnerability in macOS allows a malicious application to bypass security controls and launch arbitrary binaries on a trusted device. The root cause was insufficient input validation that could be exploited to escape application sandboxing or escalate privileges.

MitigationApply the macOS security updates (Sequoia 15.6 or Sonoma 14.7.7) to all affected systems. Additionally, enforce application whitelisting and restrict user ability to install untrusted software to reduce attack surface.

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:< 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 installed macOS version
    Run `sw_vers -productVersion` in Terminal, or go to System Settings > General > About
    Affected if Version is 14.x and below 14.7.7, or version is 15.0 through 15.5.x

System is vulnerable if running any macOS Sonoma version below 14.7.7 or macOS Sequoia version below 15.6.

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 14.7.7 / 15.6 or later
Fixed in 14.7.715.6
Interim mitigation

Apply the macOS security updates (Sequoia 15.6 or Sonoma 14.7.7) to all affected systems. Additionally, enforce application whitelisting and restrict user ability to install untrusted software to reduce attack surface.

Recommended fix High confidence

macOS Sequoia 15.6 or macOS Sonoma 14.7.7 (depending on current macOS version)

  1. Back up your Mac using Time Machine or another backup solution before updating
  2. Open System Settings (or System Preferences on older macOS versions)
  3. Navigate to General > Software Update
  4. Allow macOS to check for updates
  5. If macOS Sequoia 15.6 or macOS Sonoma 14.7.7 is available, click Update Now to install the security update
  6. Restart your Mac if prompted to complete the installation
  7. Verify the update was successful by checking System Settings > General > About > macOS Version
Caveat Standard macOS upgrade considerations apply - review App Store apps for compatibility and back up data before updating

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

Fix this in macOS Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,200
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,120.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-43253 — 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-2025-43253 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