VulnerabilityPublished 29 Jul 2025Updated 2 Apr 2026

CVE-2025-43240: Apple Safari · A download's origin may be incorrectly associated

Affects Apple SafariSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 6.2 Medium · fixed in 18.6 : update Apple Safari when convenient.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 10:12 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

6.2Medium

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

EPSS: 0.9% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 61% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch: Available – fixed in 18.6

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

Attack Vector: Local
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: None
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality: High
Integrity: None
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: High: There is total loss of confidentiality, resulting in all resources within the impacted component being divulged to the attacker. Alternatively, access to only some restricted information is obtained, but the disclosed information presents a direct, serious impact.
Integrity: None: There is no loss of integrity within 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 or the CVSS exploit maturity 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 Safari	Affected =0	Fixed in–

AI-suggested

To mitigate CVE-2025-43240, organizations and users should promptly update Safari to version 18.6 or later and macOS to Sequoia 15.6 or later, where the issue is fixed. Beyond patching, administrators should enforce strict local access controls to limit unauthorized user presence on systems, as exploitation requires local access. Employ endpoint security solutions that monitor and restrict unauthorized downloads or file origin manipulations. Implement network-level protections such as web proxies or content filters that validate download sources independently of browser origin data. Educate users about the risks of downloading files from untrusted sources, even if the browser indicates a trusted origin. For environments with high security requirements, consider using alternative browsers with robust origin verification until patches are applied. Regularly audit and monitor systems for unusual download activity or attempts to spoof download origins. Finally, maintain an up-to-date inventory of affected systems to ensure timely patch deployment.

Description

A logic issue was addressed with improved checks. This issue is fixed in Safari 18.6, macOS Sequoia 15.6. A download's origin may be incorrectly associated.

Impact

The primary impact of CVE-2025-43240 is on confidentiality, as incorrect origin association may allow attackers to mislead security controls or users about the provenance of downloaded files. This can facilitate social engineering, phishing, or delivery of malicious content under the guise of trusted sources. While the vulnerability does not directly compromise system integrity or availability, the misattribution can weaken trust in download security mechanisms and potentially enable further attacks that rely on origin spoofing. Organizations relying on Safari for sensitive operations or distributing software via downloads may face increased risk of targeted attacks or data leakage. Since exploitation requires local access, the threat is more relevant in environments where attackers can gain limited system access or in multi-user systems. The absence of required user interaction lowers the barrier for exploitation once local access is achieved. Overall, the vulnerability poses a moderate risk to organizations, especially those with high reliance on Safari and macOS for secure web operations.

CWE-703Improper Check or Handling of Exceptional Conditions (opens in a new tab)
Pillar weaknessOWASP Top 10 A10:2025: Mishandling of Exceptional Conditions (opens in a new tab)
The product does not properly anticipate or handle exceptional conditions that rarely occur during normal operation of the product.
MITRE discourages mapping vulnerabilities to this broad entry; the root cause is usually a more specific weakness.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
Logging (opens in a new tab)
Error Handling (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

Community reviews

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 3 Apr 2026, 01:45 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-703

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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