dbcve.org
macOSOperating system · Apple

CVE-2025-43394

MEDIUM · 5.5 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 →
58/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
No privileges

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
This issue was addressed with improved handling of symlinks. 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 access protected user data.

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

This is a symlink handling vulnerability in macOS where an application could potentially access protected user data by exploiting symbolic links. An attacker could create or manipulate symlinks to trick a privileged application into accessing files outside its intended scope, bypassing sandbox restrictions.

MitigationApply the macOS security updates: Sequoia 15.7.2, Sonoma 14.8.2, or Tahoe 26.1 depending on the macOS version in use.

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/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. Determine your macOS version
    Run `sw_vers -productVersion` in Terminal, or open System Settings > About to view the macOS version
    Affected if The displayed version is 14.0 through 14.8.1, or 15.0 through 15.7.1, indicating the system has not received the security fix
  2. Confirm the major version of macOS
    Run `sw_vers -productVersion` and note whether it starts with 14 (Sonoma) or 15 (Sequoia)
    Affected if The version begins with 14 or 15, placing it in the affected version families listed for this CVE
  3. Identify if symlink-based file access could occur
    This vulnerability exists in the operating system's symlink handling within sandboxed, privileged applications. There is no specific configuration flag to check; the vulnerability is present in the OS kernel components handling symbolic links
    Affected if The system is running an unpatched version in the affected range, meaning any application that processes user-controlled symlinks could potentially be exploited

You are affected if your macOS version is 14.0 to 14.8.1 (Sonoma) or 15.0 to 15.7.1 (Sequoia); versions 14.8.2, 15.7.2, and later contain the fix.

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 macOS security updates: Sequoia 15.7.2, Sonoma 14.8.2, or Tahoe 26.1 depending on the macOS version in use.

Recommended fix High confidence

macOS Sonoma 14.8.2 or macOS Sequoia 15.7.2 (depending on which major version line you are on)

  1. Check the current macOS version by clicking the Apple menu and selecting 'About This Mac'
  2. Back up important data using Time Machine or another backup method before performing the upgrade
  3. Upgrade to macOS Sonoma 14.8.2 if currently on macOS 14.x (Sonoma), or upgrade to macOS Sequoia 15.7.2 if currently on macOS 15.x (Sequoia)
  4. To upgrade, go to System Settings > General > Software Update and install the available update, or download the appropriate installer from the Apple website
  5. Restart the Mac if prompted to complete the installation
  6. Verify the update was successful by checking 'About This Mac' shows the corrected version number
Caveat Standard macOS update considerations apply - ensure compatibility with essential applications before upgrading

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
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
4.0 hours of engineering $750
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,200.

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-2025-43394 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