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Actively exploited in the wild. This CVE is on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities list — treat remediation as urgent. Federal remediation due by 11 Sep 2025.
IpadosOperating system · Apple

CVE-2025-43300

CRITICAL · 10.0 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-08-21
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 13.7.8 / 14.7.8 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
In the wild Public exploit 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
An out-of-bounds write issue was addressed with improved bounds checking. This issue is fixed in iOS 15.8.5 and iPadOS 15.8.5, iOS 16.7.12 and iPadOS 16.7.12, iOS 18.6.2 and iPadOS 18.6.2, iPadOS 17.7.10, macOS Sequoia 15.6.1, macOS Sonoma 14.7.8, macOS Ventura 13.7.8. Processing a malicious image file may result in memory corruption. Apple is aware of a report that this issue may have been exploited in an extremely sophisticated attack against specific targeted individuals.

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

An out-of-bounds write vulnerability in Apple operating systems' image processing component allows memory corruption when processing a maliciously crafted image file. This is a critical memory safety flaw being actively exploited in targeted attacks.

MitigationImmediately apply the available vendor patches for all affected iOS, iPadOS, and macOS versions. Given the known in-the-wild exploitation, prioritize patching all exposed devices as a critical priority.

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
IpadosOperating system
Affected:< 15.8.5>= 16.0, < 16.7.12>= 17.0, < 17.7.10>= 18.0, < 18.6.2
Iphone OsOperating system
Affected:< 15.8.5>= 16.0, < 16.7.12>= 17.0, < 18.6.2
macOSOperating system
Affected:>= 13.0, < 13.7.8>= 14.0, < 14.7.8>= 15.0, < 15.6.1

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
Changed
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/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. Identify your device platform
    Determine if the device is running iOS (iPhone), iPadOS (iPad), or macOS. For iOS/iPadOS, go to Settings > General > About. For macOS, click the Apple menu and select About This Mac.
    Affected if device runs any of the affected Apple operating systems
  2. Check iOS or iPadOS version on iPhone or iPad
    On iPhone or iPad, go to Settings > General > About and note the version number displayed next to 'Version'.
    Affected if version is < 15.8.5, OR >= 16.0 and < 16.7.12, OR >= 17.0 and < 17.7.10, OR >= 18.0 and < 18.6.2
  3. Check macOS version
    On Mac, click the Apple menu > About This Mac and note the version number (such as 13.x, 14.x, or 15.x).
    Affected if version is >= 13.0 and < 13.7.8, OR >= 14.0 and < 14.7.8, OR >= 15.0 and < 15.6.1
  4. Confirm image processing exposure
    Verify that the device can process image files (any app that renders images: Safari, Photos, Mail, Messages, or third-party apps). This is enabled by default on all affected versions.
    Affected if image processing apps are in use on a vulnerable OS version

The device is affected if it runs any iOS, iPadOS, or macOS version that falls within the vulnerable ranges listed above.

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 13.7.8 / 14.7.8 / 15.6.1 or later
Fixed in 13.7.814.7.815.6.1
Interim mitigation

Immediately apply the available vendor patches for all affected iOS, iPadOS, and macOS versions. Given the known in-the-wild exploitation, prioritize patching all exposed devices as a critical priority.

Recommended fix High confidence

iOS 15.8.5 / iPadOS 15.8.5 / iOS 16.7.12 / iPadOS 16.7.12 / iPadOS 17.7.10 / iOS 18.6.2 / iPadOS 18.6.2 / macOS Ventura 13.7.8 / macOS Sonoma 14.7.8 / macOS Sequoia 15.6.1

  1. For iPhone or iPad: Go to Settings > General > Software Update and upgrade to iOS/iPadOS 15.8.5, 16.7.12, 17.7.10, or 18.6.2 (choose the version matching your device's supported major release line)
  2. For Mac: Go to System Settings > General > Software Update and upgrade to macOS Ventura 13.7.8, macOS Sonoma 14.7.8, or macOS Sequoia 15.6.1 (choose the version matching your Mac's supported major release line)
  3. After updating, verify the new OS version in Settings/About to confirm the patch was applied
Caveat Standard Apple OS upgrade considerations - ensure backups exist before updating, some older apps may be incompatible with newer OS versions

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

Fix this in Ipados Exploited in the wild — priority engagement
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
9.0 hours of engineering $1,600
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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-2025-43300 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