dbcve.org
macOSOperating system · Apple

CVE-2025-43262

MEDIUM · 5.1 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-09-15
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 26.0 or later.
See remediation →
56/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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 Tahoe 26. USB Restricted Mode may not be applied to accessories connected during boot.

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 permissions issue in macOS allowed USB accessories connected during the boot process to bypass USB Restricted Mode protections. This could permit a physically present attacker to use a malicious USB device to access the Mac before the operating system fully enforces restrictions. The vulnerability is fixed in macOS Tahoe 26 with additional permission restrictions.

MitigationUpdate affected Mac systems to macOS Tahoe 26 or later. For enterprise environments, test USB Restricted Mode functionality after updating to confirm the fix is properly applied.

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:< 26.0

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
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
Low
Integrity
Low
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Check the installed macOS version
    Open Terminal and run 'sw_vers' or go to Apple menu > About This Mac to view the version number
    Affected if The version shown is below 26.0 (any version prior to macOS Tahoe 26)
  2. Verify USB Restricted Mode configuration
    Open Terminal and run: 'defaults read /Library/Preferences/com.apple.security.syspolicy.sysmemoryd USBRestrictedMode' - or check via System Settings > Privacy & Security > Security > USB Accessories (if available in the version)
    Affected if USB Restricted Mode is not enabled or the setting cannot be read on versions below 26.0
  3. Check for connected USB devices during early boot
    Review system logs for USB device connections that occurred during startup: 'log show --predicate 'subsystem == "com.apple.usb"' --last 24h | grep -i "boot"' or inspect /var/log/system.log if available
    Affected if USB devices were detected connecting before the login screen appeared on an affected version
  4. Confirm the system is a Mac with T2 or Apple Silicon chip
    Check system information: 'system_profiler SPHardwareDataType' - look for Apple T2 Security Chip or Apple Silicon
    Affected if The system has a T2 chip or Apple Silicon (these are the chips that support USB Restricted Mode, making the bypass relevant)

A system is affected if it runs macOS versions prior to 26.0 on supported Mac hardware, as the USB Restricted Mode bypass vulnerability exists in those versions.

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 26.0 or later
Fixed in 26.0
Interim mitigation

Update affected Mac systems to macOS Tahoe 26 or later. For enterprise environments, test USB Restricted Mode functionality after updating to confirm the fix is properly applied.

Recommended fix High confidence

macOS 26.0 (Tahoe)

  1. Back up your Mac using Time Machine or another backup method before starting the upgrade
  2. Open System Settings (or System Preferences on older macOS versions)
  3. Navigate to General > Software Update
  4. Check for updates and ensure your Mac is updated to macOS 26.0 (Tahoe) or later
  5. Allow the upgrade to complete and restart your Mac when prompted
  6. After the upgrade, verify USB Restricted Mode is enabled in System Settings > Privacy & Security
Caveat Major macOS upgrades may introduce compatibility issues with older applications; verify critical software is compatible 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-2025-43262 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