CVE-2025-43298
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 · uneditedA parsing issue in the handling of directory paths was addressed with improved path validation. This issue is fixed in macOS Sequoia 15.7, macOS Sonoma 14.8, macOS Tahoe 26. An app may be able to gain root 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 confidenceA path validation vulnerability in macOS allows an application to potentially gain root privileges through improper handling of directory paths. The issue stems from insufficient validation during path parsing, which could be exploited to bypass security restrictions and elevate privileges.
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>= 14.0, < 14.8>= 15.0, < 15.7CVSS 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check installed macOS versionRun 'sw_vers' in Terminal or go to Apple menu > About This Mac > General tabAffected if The version shows 14.0-14.7 (Sonoma) or 15.0-15.6 (Sequoia)
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Verify exact build numberRun 'system_profiler SPSoftwareDataType' in Terminal to see the full OS version and build numberAffected if Build number is older than the security update for your major version (14.8 or 15.7)
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Review running applications with path handlingCheck Activity Monitor for applications that create, modify, or traverse directory paths, especially third-party utilities or installersAffected if Any untrusted third-party application that handles user-supplied directory paths is running
You are affected if your macOS version is 14.0 through 14.7 or 15.0 through 15.6, as the path validation vulnerability exists in these versions and could allow an application to elevate privileges.
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 · scoped14.815.7
Apply the appropriate macOS security update (Sequoia 15.7, Sonoma 14.8, or Tahoe 26) to address the path validation flaw. Review any third-party applications that handle directory paths for similar vulnerabilities.
macOS Sonoma 14.8 or macOS Sequoia 15.7
- Check the current macOS version by clicking the Apple menu > About This Mac
- Back up your Mac using Time Machine or another backup method before updating
- Open System Settings > General > Software Update
- Click Update Now or Download to install the available update: For macOS 14.x (Sonoma), install macOS 14.8; For macOS 15.x (Sequoia), install macOS 15.7
- Restart your Mac when prompted to complete the installation
- Verify the update was successful by checking About This Mac shows the correct version number
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,088.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-43298 — 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-2025-43298 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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- 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
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