CVE-2025-43274 is a medium-severity vulnerability affecting Apple macOS, specifically related to sandboxed processes. The vulnerability allows a sandboxed process to potentially circumvent sandbox restrictions. Sandboxing is a security mechanism used to isolate running programs, limiting their access to system resources and sensitive data to reduce the impact of potential exploits. In this case, the flaw lies in the sandbox implementation, where a process confined within the sandbox could bypass these restrictions, potentially gaining unauthorized access to resources or performing actions outside its intended scope. The vulnerability was addressed by removing the vulnerable code in macOS Sequoia 15.6. The CVSS v3.1 base score is 4.4, indicating a medium severity level. The vector string (AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:L) indicates that exploitation requires local access (AV:L), low attack complexity (AC:L), low privileges (PR:L), no user interaction (UI:N), unchanged scope (S:U), with limited confidentiality impact (C:L), no integrity impact (I:N), and low availability impact (A:L). The CWE-311 classification suggests the issue relates to improper or missing encryption of sensitive data, which may be connected to the sandbox bypass. No known exploits are currently in the wild, and affected versions are unspecified, but the fix is included in macOS Sequoia 15.6. This vulnerability could be leveraged by a local attacker or malicious software running with limited privileges to escape sandbox confinement, potentially accessing sensitive information or performing unauthorized actions on the system.

For European organizations, this vulnerability poses a moderate risk primarily in environments where macOS is used, such as creative industries, software development firms, and certain enterprise sectors. The ability for a sandboxed process to bypass restrictions could lead to unauthorized data access or limited disruption of system availability. While the confidentiality impact is limited, the breach of sandbox boundaries undermines a critical security control, potentially enabling further exploitation or lateral movement within a compromised system. Organizations handling sensitive personal data under GDPR must consider the risk of data exposure. Although exploitation requires local access and low privileges, the absence of required user interaction increases the risk from automated or background processes. The lack of known exploits reduces immediate threat but does not eliminate future risk, especially as attackers may develop techniques to leverage this vulnerability. Overall, the impact is moderate but significant in contexts where macOS sandboxing is a key security layer.

European organizations should prioritize updating affected macOS systems to version Sequoia 15.6 or later, where the vulnerable code has been removed. Beyond patching, organizations should enforce strict application whitelisting and endpoint protection to prevent untrusted or malicious code from executing within sandboxed environments. Monitoring and logging of sandboxed process activities can help detect anomalous behavior indicative of sandbox escape attempts. Limiting local user privileges and employing multi-factor authentication can reduce the risk of local exploitation. Additionally, organizations should review and harden sandbox configurations and policies to minimize the attack surface. For environments with high security requirements, consider isolating critical macOS systems and restricting network access to limit potential lateral movement. Regular security awareness training should emphasize the risks of local privilege abuse and sandbox escape techniques.