CVE-2025-30457: A malicious app may be able to create symlinks to protected regions of the disk in Apple macOS
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.
AI Analysis
Technical Summary
CVE-2025-30457 is a critical vulnerability in Apple macOS where a malicious application may create symlinks pointing to protected disk regions. This could allow unauthorized access or modification of sensitive system areas. Apple addressed this issue by enhancing the validation of symlinks. The fix is included in macOS Sequoia 15.4, macOS Sonoma 14.7.5, and macOS Ventura 13.7.5.
Potential Impact
Exploitation of this vulnerability can lead to complete compromise of system confidentiality, integrity, and availability, as indicated by the CVSS score of 9.8 with high impact on all three security properties. A malicious app could leverage symlink creation to access or modify protected disk areas, potentially leading to system compromise.
Mitigation Recommendations
Apply the official patches by upgrading to macOS Sequoia 15.4, macOS Sonoma 14.7.5, or macOS Ventura 13.7.5, where improved symlink validation mitigates this vulnerability. No other mitigation steps are indicated by the vendor advisory.
CVE-2025-30457: A malicious app may be able to create symlinks to protected regions of the disk in Apple macOS
Description
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.
CVSS v3.1
Score 9.8critical
Affected software
Run on your own infrastructure? Check whether these packages are installed with threat-finder — our free open-source scanner.
Weaknesses
AI-Powered Analysis
Machine-generated threat intelligence
Technical Analysis
CVE-2025-30457 is a critical vulnerability in Apple macOS where a malicious application may create symlinks pointing to protected disk regions. This could allow unauthorized access or modification of sensitive system areas. Apple addressed this issue by enhancing the validation of symlinks. The fix is included in macOS Sequoia 15.4, macOS Sonoma 14.7.5, and macOS Ventura 13.7.5.
Potential Impact
Exploitation of this vulnerability can lead to complete compromise of system confidentiality, integrity, and availability, as indicated by the CVSS score of 9.8 with high impact on all three security properties. A malicious app could leverage symlink creation to access or modify protected disk areas, potentially leading to system compromise.
Mitigation Recommendations
Apply the official patches by upgrading to macOS Sequoia 15.4, macOS Sonoma 14.7.5, or macOS Ventura 13.7.5, where improved symlink validation mitigates this vulnerability. No other mitigation steps are indicated by the vendor advisory.
Technical Details
- Data Version
- 5.2
- Assigner Short Name
- apple
- Date Reserved
- 2025-03-22T00:04:43.720Z
- Cvss Version
- 3.1
- State
- PUBLISHED
Threat ID: 69091e1bc28fd46ded869ab1
Added to database: 11/03/2025, 21:26:51 UTC
Last enriched: 07/22/2026, 21:16:26 UTC
Last updated: 09/10/2026, 19:36:50 UTC
Views: 237
Community Reviews
0 reviewsCrowdsource mitigation strategies, share intel context, and vote on the most helpful responses. Sign in to add your voice and help keep defenders ahead.
Want to contribute mitigation steps or threat intel context? Sign in or create an account to join the community discussion.
Actions
Updates to AI analysis require Pro Console access. Upgrade inside Console → Billing.
Need more coverage?
Upgrade to Pro Console for AI refresh and higher limits.
For incident response and remediation, OffSeq services can help resolve threats faster.
Latest Threats
Check if your credentials are on the dark web
Instant breach scanning across billions of leaked records. Free tier available.