VulnerabilityPublished 29 Jul 2025Updated 2 Apr 2026

CVE-2025-31275: Apple macOS · A sandboxed process may be able to launch any installed app

Affects Apple macOSSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 6.2 Medium · fixed in 15.6 : update Apple macOS when convenient.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 09:08 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

6.2Medium

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

EPSS: 0.2% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 10% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch: Available – fixed in 15.6

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N

Attack Vector: Local
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: None
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality: None
Integrity: High
Availability: None

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Local: The vulnerable component is not bound to the network stack and the attacker’s path is via read/write/execute capabilities. Either: the attacker exploits the vulnerability by accessing the target system locally (e.g., keyboard, console), or remotely (e.g., SSH); or the attacker relies on User Interaction by another person to perform actions required to exploit the vulnerability (e.g., tricking a legitimate user into opening a malicious document).
Attack Complexity: Low: Specialized access conditions or extenuating circumstances do not exist. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable component.
Privileges Required: None: The attacker is unauthorized prior to attack, and therefore does not require any access to settings or files to carry out an attack.
User Interaction: None: The vulnerable system can be exploited without any interaction from any user.
Scope: Unchanged: An exploited vulnerability can only affect resources managed by the same security authority. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are either the same, or both are managed by the same security authority.
Confidentiality: None: There is no loss of confidentiality within the impacted component.
Integrity: High: There is a total loss of integrity, or a complete loss of protection. For example, the attacker is able to modify any/all files protected by the impacted component. Alternatively, only some files can be modified, but malicious modification would present a direct, serious consequence to the impacted component.
Availability: None: There is no impact to availability within the impacted component.

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 29 Jul 2025
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 26 Oct 2026.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponised: Public exploit code exists in Metasploit or Exploit-DB, or CISA SSVC reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
Apple macOS	Affected =0	Fixed in–

AI-suggested

To mitigate CVE-2025-31275, organizations should immediately update all macOS systems to version Sequoia 15.6 or later, where the vulnerability has been fixed with enhanced sandbox restrictions. Beyond patching, administrators should audit and restrict the use of sandboxed applications, especially those from untrusted sources or with elevated capabilities. Employ application whitelisting to limit which apps can be executed by sandboxed processes. Implement strict endpoint security controls to monitor and detect unusual process launches originating from sandboxed environments. Use macOS security features such as System Integrity Protection (SIP) and Endpoint Security Framework to enforce process execution policies. Regularly review and minimize local user permissions to reduce the risk of local exploitation. For environments with high security requirements, consider isolating critical workloads from sandboxed applications or using virtualization to contain potential breaches. Finally, maintain robust logging and alerting to identify attempts to exploit this vulnerability or anomalous app launches.

Description

A permissions issue was addressed with additional restrictions. This issue is fixed in macOS Sequoia 15.6. A sandboxed process may be able to launch any installed app.

Impact

The primary impact of CVE-2025-31275 is on the integrity of affected macOS systems. By allowing sandboxed processes to launch any installed application, attackers or malicious code confined within a sandbox could bypass intended restrictions and execute arbitrary applications, potentially leading to privilege escalation or unauthorized actions. Although confidentiality and availability are not directly affected, the ability to run arbitrary apps can facilitate further attacks, including data manipulation, persistence mechanisms, or lateral movement within the system. Organizations relying on sandboxing for security isolation—such as those running third-party apps, development environments, or managed macOS endpoints—face increased risk of compromise if this vulnerability is exploited. The lack of required user interaction and privileges lowers the barrier for exploitation once local access is obtained, increasing the threat in environments with shared or multi-user systems. While no known exploits are currently in the wild, the vulnerability's presence in widely used macOS versions prior to Sequoia 15.6 means that unpatched systems remain at risk, especially in sectors with high macOS usage such as technology, creative industries, and government agencies.

CWE-274Improper Handling of Insufficient Privileges (opens in a new tab)
Base weaknessOWASP Top 10 A10:2025: Mishandling of Exceptional Conditions (opens in a new tab)
The product does not handle or incorrectly handles when it has insufficient privileges to perform an operation, leading to resultant weaknesses.
MITRE discourages mapping vulnerabilities to this broad entry; the root cause is usually a more specific weakness.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
Docker Security (opens in a new tab)
Third Party Javascript Management (opens in a new tab)
Virtual Patching (opens in a new tab)
Logging (opens in a new tab)
Error Handling (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V1.4.4 (opens in a new tab)
V1.4.5 (opens in a new tab)
V1.10.1 (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 3 Apr 2026, 01:33 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-274

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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