dbcve.org
IpadosOperating system · Apple

CVE-2025-43494

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-12-12
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
A mail header parsing issue was addressed with improved checks. This issue is fixed in iOS 18.7.2 and iPadOS 18.7.2, iOS 26.1 and iPadOS 26.1, macOS Sequoia 15.7.2, macOS Sonoma 14.8.2, macOS Tahoe 26.1, visionOS 26.1, watchOS 26.1. An attacker may be able to cause a persistent 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 mail header parsing vulnerability in Apple's native Mail applications across iOS, iPadOS, macOS, visionOS, and watchOS allows attackers to cause a persistent denial-of-service through maliciously crafted mail headers. The fix implements improved input validation checks on mail header parsing to prevent the DoS condition.

MitigationApply the relevant security update for your Apple platform (iOS 18.7.2/iPadOS 18.7.2, iOS 26.1/iPadOS 26.1, macOS Sequoia 15.7.2, macOS Sonoma 14.8.2, macOS Tahoe 26.1, visionOS 26.1, or watchOS 26.1). For systems that cannot be updated, consider disabling the native Mail app or implementing mail gateway filtering to reject malformed headers.

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:< 18.7.2= 26.0
Iphone OsOperating system
Affected:< 18.7.2= 26.0
macOSOperating system
Affected:>= 14.0, < 14.8.2>= 15.0, < 15.7.2= 26.0
VisionosOperating system
Affected:< 26.1
WatchosOperating system
Affected:< 26.1

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
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/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 if Apple Mail app is installed or active
    On macOS: open Terminal and run 'system_profiler SPApplicationsDataType | grep -i mail' to list Mail applications. On iOS/iPadOS: check Settings > General > iPhone/iPad Storage to see if Mail app is installed.
    Affected if Apple Mail application is installed and has been opened at least once, as the vulnerability resides in the native Mail app's header parsing logic.
  2. Identify the macOS version
    Open Terminal and run 'sw_vers -productVersion' to get the exact version number. Compare against the affected ranges: 14.0 to 14.8.2 (exclusive), 15.0 to 15.7.2 (exclusive), or version 26.0.
    Affected if The installed macOS version falls within any of these ranges: >= 14.0 and < 14.8.2, or >= 15.0 and < 15.7.2, or equals 26.0.
  3. Identify the iOS or iPadOS version
    On the device, go to Settings > General > About and note the version number. Compare against the affected ranges: versions prior to 18.7.2, or version 26.0.
    Affected if The installed iOS or iPadOS version is less than 18.7.2, or equals exactly 26.0.
  4. Identify the visionOS version
    On the Vision Pro, go to Settings > General > About and check the version. Compare against the affected range: versions prior to 26.1.
    Affected if The installed visionOS version is less than 26.1.
  5. Identify the watchOS version
    On the Apple Watch, open the Watch app on iPhone, go to My Watch > General > About, and check the version. Alternatively, on the Watch go to Settings > General > About.
    Affected if The installed watchOS version is less than 26.1.

A user is affected if they are running any Apple platform (iOS, iPadOS, macOS, visionOS, or watchOS) with a version number in the affected ranges AND have used the native Mail application, as the DoS vulnerability is triggered when Mail parses maliciously crafted headers.

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 / 18.7.2 or later
Fixed in 14.8.215.7.218.7.2
Interim mitigation

Apply the relevant security update for your Apple platform (iOS 18.7.2/iPadOS 18.7.2, iOS 26.1/iPadOS 26.1, macOS Sequoia 15.7.2, macOS Sonoma 14.8.2, macOS Tahoe 26.1, visionOS 26.1, or watchOS 26.1). For systems that cannot be updated, consider disabling the native Mail app or implementing mail gateway filtering to reject malformed headers.

Recommended fix High confidence

iOS 18.7.2/iPadOS 18.7.2 (or iOS 26.1/iPadOS 26.1); macOS Sonoma 14.8.2, macOS Sequoia 15.7.2, or macOS Tahoe 26.1; visionOS 26.1; watchOS 26.1

  1. For iPhone/iPad: Open Settings > General > Software Update to check for and install iOS 18.7.2 or iPadOS 18.7.2 (or iOS 26.1/iPadOS 26.1 for future versions)
  2. For macOS: Open System Settings > General > Software Update to check for and install the appropriate update: macOS Sonoma 14.8.2, macOS Sequoia 15.7.2, or macOS Tahoe 26.1
  3. For visionOS: Go to Settings > General > Software Update to install visionOS 26.1
  4. For watchOS: On the Apple Watch, go to Settings > General > Software Update, or use the Watch app on iPhone to install watchOS 26.1
  5. Ensure the device is connected to Wi-Fi and power before starting the update
Caveat Standard iOS/macOS update considerations apply - ensure backups exist before updating

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

Fix this in Ipados Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
9.0 hours of engineering $1,600
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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-2025-43494 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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