CVE-2025-43208 is a medium-severity vulnerability affecting Apple macOS, specifically related to a permissions issue that could allow an application to read sensitive location information without proper authorization. The vulnerability stems from insufficient access control (CWE-284), where an app may bypass intended restrictions and access location data that should be protected. This issue was addressed by Apple with additional restrictions in macOS Tahoe 26, indicating that earlier versions of macOS are vulnerable. The CVSS 3.1 base score is 5.5, reflecting a medium severity level. The vector string (AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N) indicates that the attack requires local access (AV:L), low attack complexity (AC:L), no privileges required (PR:N), and user interaction (UI:R). The scope is unchanged (S:U), and the impact is high on confidentiality (C:H), with no impact on integrity (I:N) or availability (A:N). This means that an attacker with local access and the ability to trick a user into interaction could potentially extract sensitive location information from the system without altering data or disrupting service. No known exploits are currently reported in the wild, but the vulnerability poses a privacy risk, especially for users and organizations handling sensitive location data on macOS devices. The lack of a patch link suggests users should upgrade to macOS Tahoe 26 or later once available to mitigate the issue.

For European organizations, this vulnerability could lead to unauthorized disclosure of sensitive location data from macOS devices, potentially exposing employee or operational locations. This could compromise privacy, violate GDPR regulations regarding personal data protection, and lead to reputational damage or regulatory penalties. Organizations relying on macOS endpoints for sensitive operations or those with mobile or remote workforces are particularly at risk. Attackers exploiting this vulnerability could track user movements or infer sensitive operational details without detection. Although exploitation requires local access and user interaction, insider threats or malware could leverage this flaw to gather location intelligence. The confidentiality breach could also aid in targeted attacks or espionage, especially for sectors like government, defense, finance, or critical infrastructure within Europe.

European organizations should prioritize upgrading all macOS devices to macOS Tahoe 26 or later once the update is available, as this version includes the fix for CVE-2025-43208. Until then, organizations should enforce strict endpoint security controls to limit local access to trusted users only and implement application whitelisting to prevent unauthorized apps from running. User education is critical to reduce the risk of social engineering attacks that require user interaction. Additionally, organizations should audit installed applications for unnecessary permissions, particularly location access, and restrict or remove apps that do not require such data. Monitoring for unusual access patterns to location services on macOS devices can help detect potential exploitation attempts. Finally, integrating macOS device management solutions that enforce security policies and timely patch deployment will reduce exposure.