macOSOperating system · Apple

CVE-2025-43297

MEDIUM · 6.2 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-09-15
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 26.0 or later.
See remediation →
67/100
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 type confusion issue was addressed with improved memory handling. This issue is fixed in macOS Tahoe 26. An app may be able to cause a denial-of-service.

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 type confusion vulnerability in macOS allows a local application to trigger improper memory handling, leading to a denial-of-service condition. The fix involves improved memory handling in macOS Tahoe 26.

MitigationApply the macOS Tahoe 26 security update to resolve the type confusion vulnerability and prevent denial-of-service conditions.

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
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/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 macOS version in System Settings
    Open System Settings, click General, then About. Read the version number displayed next to 'macOS'.
    Affected if The version shown is less than 26.0 (for example, 25.x, 24.x, etc.)
  2. Check macOS version via System Information
    Open Finder, go to Applications > Utilities > System Information. In the left pane, select Software. The macOS version is displayed under the System Software overview.
    Affected if The reported version is below 26.0
  3. Check macOS version via terminal
    Open Terminal and run: sw_vers -productVersion
    Affected if The output shows a version lower than 26.0 (such as 25.3.1, 24.5.0, etc.)
  4. Verify the type confusion context
    This vulnerability is exploitable by a local application. Confirm you are running macOS as the operating system.
    Affected if The system is running any macOS version below 26.0

If the installed macOS version is below 26.0, the environment is affected by this type confusion vulnerability that can be triggered by local applications.

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

Apply the macOS Tahoe 26 security update to resolve the type confusion vulnerability and prevent denial-of-service conditions.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

macOS Tahoe 26.0

  1. Back up your Mac using Time Machine or another backup solution before upgrading
  2. Check your current macOS version by clicking the Apple menu > About This Mac
  3. Ensure your Mac is compatible with macOS Tahoe 26.0 by checking Apple's compatibility list
  4. Connect your Mac to power and a stable internet connection
  5. Open System Settings > General > Software Update
  6. If macOS Tahoe 26.0 is available, click Download and Install
  7. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the upgrade
  8. Restart your Mac when prompted
Caveat Major macOS version upgrades may introduce compatibility issues with older applications or require reconfiguration of system settings

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
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
5.0 hours of engineering $860
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,376.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-43297 — 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-2025-43297 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