dbcve.org
macOSOperating system · Apple

CVE-2025-43281

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-10-15
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 15.6 or later.
See remediation →
80/100
Remediation priority · High
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
The issue was addressed with improved authentication. This issue is fixed in macOS Sequoia 15.6. A local attacker may be able to elevate their privileges.

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 local authentication weakness in macOS Sequoia allows an unprivileged local attacker to elevate their privileges to higher permissions. The vulnerability stems from insufficient authentication controls that were strengthened in the macOS 15.6 update.

MitigationApply macOS Sequoia 15.6 or later to remediate the authentication vulnerability; for enterprise fleets, deploy via MDM or patch management infrastructure.

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:< 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
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/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
    Open Terminal and run: sw_vers -productVersion
    Affected if The displayed version is below 15.6 (e.g., 15.5, 15.4, etc.)
  2. Confirm macOS Sequoia lineage
    Run: sw_vers -productName to verify the system is macOS rather than older Apple operating systems
    Affected if ProductName displays anything other than macOS and the version is below 15.6
  3. Verify build number (optional)
    Run: sw_vers -buildVersion to obtain the specific build, which can help confirm the exact patch level within the 15.x series
    Affected if Build number corresponds to a pre-15.6 release

The system is affected if it is running any version of macOS Sequoia prior to version 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 15.6 or later
Fixed in 15.6
Interim mitigation

Apply macOS Sequoia 15.6 or later to remediate the authentication vulnerability; for enterprise fleets, deploy via MDM or patch management infrastructure.

Recommended fix High confidence

macOS Sequoia 15.6

  1. Back up your Mac using Time Machine or another backup method before updating
  2. Open System Settings (or System Preferences on older macOS versions)
  3. Click on General and then select Software Update
  4. Allow macOS to check for available updates
  5. If macOS Sequoia 15.6 or later is available, click Update Now or Download and Install
  6. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation
  7. Restart your Mac when prompted to apply the security update

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

Fix this in macOS Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
5.0 hours of engineering $890
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,424.

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-2025-43281 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