Raw vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:NSummary
CVE-2025-43331 is a medium-severity Missing Authorization (CWE-862) vulnerability in Apple Macos. Its CVSS base score is 4.0 (Medium).
Operationally, ranked at the 8th 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 AC-3 (Access Enforcement) and CM-14 (Signed Components) — see the control section below for these in your framework.
OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2025-29352
Vulnerability Data
A downgrade issue was addressed with additional code-signing restrictions. This issue is fixed in macOS Tahoe 26. An app may be able to access protected user data.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Control response
- 5 hardening rules · 3 OS baselines
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Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
Directly enforces authorization checks so an app cannot access protected user data after a downgrade bypasses signing restrictions.
Requires cryptographic signing of components and rejects improperly signed or downgraded executables, matching the exact fix described for CVE-2025-43331.
Verifies software integrity via signatures before execution, blocking the downgraded app that would otherwise gain unauthorized data access.
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.
Explicitly requires defining, enforcing, and reviewing authorizations and least privilege, directly preventing missing authorization checks.
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.
Requiring authentication and credentials before any access occurs eliminates the absence of authorization checks that would otherwise allow an unauthenticated actor to reach protected resources.
Requiring formal authorization of every access request before rights are granted ensures that checks for required permissions are performed, preventing missing authorization checks from being introduced.
Mandatory authorization checks and central records of granted rights ensure that every access attempt is preceded by an explicit decision rather than relying on missing checks.
Segregating the approval of access rights from their implementation provides an independent check that reduces the impact of missing authorization checks in the resulting system configuration.
By requiring competent outsiders to verify that every function enforces the need-to-know principle, the control lowers the likelihood that missing authorization checks persist undetected.
Defining authorization responsibilities and reviewing risk-treatment progress throughout the project lifecycle catches missing authorization checks before the system is deployed.