CVE-2025-30457
Apple Macos ≤ 13.7.5
Raw vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:HCVSS and EPSS are reproduced from their sources (NVD, FIRST EPSS). Risk Priority is our own derived reading, not an NVD score.
Summary
CVE-2025-30457 is a critical-severity Link Following (CWE-59) vulnerability in Apple Macos. Its CVSS base score is 9.8 (Critical).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Path Interception (T1034); ranked in the top 36% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to AC-3 (Access Enforcement) and AC-6 (Least Privilege) — see the control section below for these in your framework.
Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary
Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.
CVE-2025-30457 is a symlink validation vulnerability (CWE-59: Improper Link Resolution before Boundaries Checking) affecting macOS systems. It allows a malicious app to create symlinks pointing to protected regions of the disk, bypassing intended access controls. The issue has been addressed in macOS Sequoia 15.4, macOS Sonoma 14.7.5, and macOS Ventura 13.7.5 through improved symlink validation. The vulnerability carries a CVSS v3.1 base score of 9.8 (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H), indicating critical severity with high impacts on confidentiality, integrity, and availability.
A remote attacker with no privileges or user interaction can exploit this flaw by delivering a malicious app to the target system. Once executed, the app can create symlinks to restricted disk areas, potentially enabling unauthorized read, write, or deletion of sensitive data in protected locations, such as system files or user directories.
Apple security advisories detail the fix via enhanced symlink checks and recommend updating to the patched versions (macOS Sequoia 15.4, Sonoma 14.7.5, or Ventura 13.7.5) as the primary mitigation. Additional details are available in the referenced support bulletins at https://support.apple.com/en-us/122373, https://support.apple.com/en-us/122374, and https://support.apple.com/en-us/122375, along with full disclosure postings on seclists.org.
OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2025-8905
Vulnerability Data
This issue was addressed with improved validation of symlinks. This issue is fixed in macOS Sequoia 15.4, macOS Sonoma 14.7.5, macOS Ventura 13.7.5. A malicious app may be able to create symlinks to protected regions of the disk.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Control response
—
—
—
V15.4.2
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
Proper enforcement of access authorizations on the resolved target resource stops a link from reaching an unintended object.
Least-privilege limits the damage an attacker can cause after following an unintended link.
Validating file-name inputs can reject or canonicalize names that resolve to links before access occurs.
Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI
Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.
Secure SDLC practices directly require code to validate paths and avoid unsafe link following.
Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI
Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.
Security testing can detect link-following flaws before release.
Secure SDLC practices can mandate link-resolution checks and canonicalization before file access.
Application security requirements can explicitly require safe handling of symbolic links and path traversal.
Secure architecture principles include input validation and safe file-access design patterns.
Secure coding standards directly address canonicalization and symlink attacks during implementation.
Access-control rules can limit which files are reachable, reducing exposure to malicious links.