macOSOperating system · Apple

CVE-2025-43373

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-11-04
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 14.8.2 / 15.7.2 or later.
See remediation →
84/100
Remediation priority · High
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
The issue was addressed with improved memory handling. This issue is fixed in macOS Sequoia 15.7.2, macOS Sonoma 14.8.2, macOS Tahoe 26.1. An app may be able to cause unexpected system termination or corrupt kernel memory.

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

This is a memory handling vulnerability in macOS kernel that allows a malicious application to corrupt kernel memory or cause a system crash (kernel panic). The vulnerability likely involves improper memory allocation, deallocation, or access in a privileged kernel component, allowing a user-space application to manipulate kernel memory with potentially serious security implications.

MitigationApply the appropriate macOS security update: macOS Sequoia 15.7.2, macOS Sonoma 14.8.2, or macOS Tahoe 26.1. This is a critical kernel-level fix that should be prioritized given the CVSS 7.5 severity and potential for system compromise.

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:>= 14.0, < 14.8.2>= 15.0, < 15.7.2

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
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/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 installed macOS version
    Open Terminal and run: sw_vers -productVersion
    Affected if The version displayed is 14.0 through 14.8.1, or 15.0 through 15.7.1 (versions before the fixes in 14.8.2 and 15.7.2)
  2. Confirm macOS name and build
    Run: sw_vers in Terminal to see both product name (Sonoma, Sequoia, etc.) and build number
    Affected if The build number is earlier than the fixed releases for your macOS version

Your system is affected if it runs macOS Sonoma 14.0-14.8.1 or macOS Sequoia 15.0-15.7.1, as these versions contain the vulnerable kernel memory handling code.

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 14.8.2 / 15.7.2 or later
Fixed in 14.8.215.7.2
Interim mitigation

Apply the appropriate macOS security update: macOS Sequoia 15.7.2, macOS Sonoma 14.8.2, or macOS Tahoe 26.1. This is a critical kernel-level fix that should be prioritized given the CVSS 7.5 severity and potential for system compromise.

Recommended fix High confidence

macOS Sonoma 14.8.2, macOS Sequoia 15.7.2, or macOS Tahoe 26.1 (depending on current major version)

  1. Check current macOS version by going to System Settings > General > About
  2. Backup important data before performing system updates
  3. For macOS 14.x (Sonoma): Go to System Settings > General > Software Update and install macOS Sonoma 14.8.2
  4. For macOS 15.x (Sequoia): Go to System Settings > General > Software Update and install macOS Sequoia 15.7.2
  5. For macOS 26.x (Tahoe): Go to System Settings > General > Software Update and install macOS Tahoe 26.1
  6. Restart the system when prompted to complete the update
  7. Verify the update was successful by checking System Settings > General > About shows the fixed version
Caveat Standard macOS update risks apply - ensure backups exist before updating

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
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
8.0 hours of engineering $1,390
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,224.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-43373 — 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-2025-43373 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