Cyber Resilience

CVE-2025-43298

Apple Macos 14.0 – 14.8

Published
15 September 2025
Modified
02 April 2026
Patch / advisory
View advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 7.8
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.0022 13th percentile
Risk Priority 55 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2025-43298 is a high-severity Improper Resolution of Path Equivalence (CWE-41) vulnerability in Apple Macos. Its CVSS base score is 7.8 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Data from Local System (T1005); ranked at the 13th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to SI-10 (Information Input Validation) and AC-3 (Access Enforcement) — see the control section below for these in your framework.

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

A parsing issue in the handling of directory paths was addressed with improved path validation. This issue is fixed in macOS Sequoia 15.7, macOS Sonoma 14.8, macOS Tahoe 26. An app may be able to gain root privileges.

CWE(s)
CWE-41

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1005 Data from Local System Collection
Adversaries may search local system sources, such as file systems, configuration files, local databases, virtual machine files, or process memory, to find files of interest and sensitive data prior to Exfiltration.
attack.mitre.org →
T1083 File and Directory Discovery Discovery
Adversaries may enumerate files and directories or may search in specific locations of a host or network share for certain information within a file system.
attack.mitre.org →
T1190 Exploit Public-Facing Application Initial Access
Adversaries may attempt to exploit a weakness in an Internet-facing host or system to initially access a network.
attack.mitre.org →
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2024-44190Same product: Apple Macos
CVE-2024-27827Same product: Apple Macos
CVE-2026-28827Same product: Apple Macos
CVE-2024-54489Same product: Apple Macos
CVE-2025-43196Same product: Apple Macos
CVE-2025-43417Same product: Apple Macos
CVE-2025-43206Same product: Apple Macos
CVE-2025-43465Same product: Apple Macos
CVE-2023-40383Same product: Apple Macos
CVE-2024-23216Same product: Apple Macos

Affected Assets

apple
macos
14.0 — 14.8 · 15.0 — 15.7

Mitigating Controls

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

SI-10 Information Input Validation good match

Input validation of file paths directly rejects or normalizes the special-character manipulations that create equivalent names.

AC-3 Access Enforcement partial match

Proper enforcement of file access authorizations structurally blocks disclosure when equivalent paths are presented.

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.

PR.PS-06 mostly match
prevents

Secure SDLC practices directly prevent introduction of improper path-resolution logic in software.

PR.IR-01 partial match
prevents

Path-equivalence flaws enable unauthorized file access that network segmentation and logical access controls can partially block.

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.

A.8.28 Secure coding mostly match
prevents

Secure coding standards directly require canonical path resolution and input sanitization to prevent equivalence attacks.

A.8.29 Security testing in development and acceptance mostly match
finds

Security testing can detect path-equivalence flaws before release, partially fulfilling the control.

A.8.25 Secure development life cycle partial match
prevents

Secure development lifecycle includes path-handling requirements that reduce equivalence-based disclosure.

A.8.26 Application security requirements partial match
prevents

Application security requirements can mandate canonicalization and input validation to block path equivalence.

A.8.27 Secure system architecture and engineering principles partial match
prevents

Secure architecture principles call for safe file-system abstractions that mitigate path traversal risks.

A.8.3 Information access restriction none match
none

Information access restriction limits what files can be reached, indirectly reducing impact of path-equivalence exploits.

References