CVE-2025-43260VulnerabilityPublished 29 Jul 2025Updated 2 Apr 2026

CVE-2025-43260: Apple macOS · An app may be able to hijack entitlements granted to other privileged apps

Affects Apple macOSSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 5.1 Medium · fixed in 15.6 : update Apple macOS when convenient.

Data as of 25 Oct 2026, 19:02 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

5.1Medium

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

EPSS: 0.2% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 11% 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:L/I:L/A:N

Attack Vector: Local
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: None
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality: Low
Integrity: Low
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: Low: There is some loss of confidentiality. Access to some restricted information is obtained, but the attacker does not have control over what information is obtained, or the amount or kind of loss is limited. The information disclosure does not cause a direct, serious loss to the impacted component.
Integrity: Low: Modification of data is possible, but the attacker does not have control over the consequence of a modification, or the amount of modification is limited. The data modification does not have a direct, serious impact on 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 2026-10-25.

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-2025-43260, organizations should immediately update affected macOS systems to versions Sequoia 15.6, Sonoma 14.7.7, or later where the vulnerability is patched. Beyond patching, restrict local user permissions to minimize installation or execution of untrusted apps. Employ application whitelisting and endpoint protection solutions to detect and block unauthorized apps attempting to hijack entitlements. Regularly audit installed applications and their entitlements to identify anomalies. Use macOS security features such as System Integrity Protection (SIP) and Hardened Runtime to limit app capabilities. Implement strict access controls and monitoring on developer and privileged user machines, as these are high-risk targets for local exploitation. Educate users about risks of installing untrusted software. For environments requiring high security, consider isolating critical apps or using virtualization to reduce attack surface. Finally, maintain robust incident detection and response capabilities to quickly identify and remediate any exploitation attempts.

Description

This issue was addressed with improved data protection. This issue is fixed in macOS Sequoia 15.6, macOS Sonoma 14.7.7. An app may be able to hijack entitlements granted to other privileged apps.

Impact

The primary impact of CVE-2025-43260 is unauthorized privilege escalation on affected macOS systems. An attacker with local access can hijack entitlements granted to privileged apps, potentially gaining access to sensitive data or performing restricted operations. This compromises confidentiality and integrity of the system and data. Although availability is not affected, the breach of trust boundaries can facilitate further attacks or data exfiltration. Organizations relying on macOS for critical operations, especially those running multiple privileged apps or sensitive workloads, face increased risk of insider threats or malware exploiting this flaw. The lack of required authentication or user interaction lowers the barrier for exploitation once local access is obtained. While no known exploits exist currently, the vulnerability could be targeted in environments where attackers have foothold access, such as compromised endpoints or developer machines. This could lead to lateral movement, data breaches, or disruption of security controls.

CWE-266Incorrect Privilege Assignment (opens in a new tab)
Base weaknessOWASP Top 10 A06:2025: Insecure Design (opens in a new tab)
A product incorrectly assigns a privilege to a particular actor, creating an unintended sphere of control for that actor.
Architecture and Design · Operation
Very carefully manage the setting, management, and handling of privileges. Explicitly manage trust zones in the software.
Architecture and Design · Operation · Environment Hardening
Run your code using the lowest privileges that are required to accomplish the necessary tasks. If possible, create isolated accounts with limited privileges that are only used for a single task. That way, a successful attack will not immediately give the attacker access to the rest of the software or its environment.
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)
Secure Design Principles (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

Community reviews

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 3 Apr 2026, 01:48 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-266

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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