CVE-2025-43232
Published: 30 July 2025
Summary
CVE-2025-43232 is a critical-severity Improper Access Control (CWE-284) vulnerability in Apple Macos. Its CVSS base score is 9.8 (Critical).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique TCC Manipulation (T1548.006); ranked at the 29.4th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
The strongest mitigations our analysis identified are NIST 800-53 AC-16 (Security and Privacy Attributes) and AC-3 (Access Enforcement).
Threat & Defense at a Glance
Threat & Defense Details
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5)AI
Enforces approved authorizations for access to system resources, directly mitigating the improper access control that allowed apps to bypass macOS Privacy preferences.
Implements least privilege to restrict app access to only necessary resources, preventing escalation beyond intended Privacy preference boundaries.
Manages security and privacy attributes to enforce policies on privacy-sensitive resources, countering the bypass of macOS Privacy preferences.
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise TechniquesAI
Why these techniques?
Direct mapping to TCC Manipulation via macOS Privacy preferences bypass (CWE-284 improper access control).
NVD Description
A permissions issue was addressed with additional restrictions. This issue is fixed in macOS Sequoia 15.6, macOS Sonoma 14.7.7, macOS Ventura 13.7.7. An app may be able to bypass certain Privacy preferences.
Deeper analysisAI
CVE-2025-43232 is a permissions issue, classified under CWE-284 (Improper Access Control), affecting Apple's macOS operating system. The vulnerability enables an app to bypass certain Privacy preferences. It impacts macOS versions prior to Sequoia 15.6, Sonoma 14.7.7, and Ventura 13.7.7, with the issue published on 2025-07-30.
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), marking it as critical. Attackers require no privileges or user interaction and can exploit it over the network with low complexity. A malicious app can be used to bypass Privacy preferences, potentially achieving high impacts on confidentiality, integrity, and availability.
Apple addressed the issue with additional restrictions on permissions, as detailed in security updates. The fixes are included in macOS Sequoia 15.6, macOS Sonoma 14.7.7, and macOS Ventura 13.7.7. Mitigation involves updating to these patched versions, with further details in advisories at https://support.apple.com/en-us/124149, https://support.apple.com/en-us/124150, https://support.apple.com/en-us/124151, http://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2025/Jul/32, and http://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2025/Jul/33.
Details
- CWE(s)