CVE-2025-43295 is a denial-of-service vulnerability identified in Apple macOS and related operating systems such as iOS and iPadOS. The root cause is insufficient validation within the OS that allows a local application to trigger a resource exhaustion or similar condition leading to system unavailability. This vulnerability is classified under CWE-400 (Uncontrolled Resource Consumption), indicating that an app can cause excessive resource usage, resulting in a crash or system hang. The vulnerability affects macOS Sonoma 14.8, macOS Sequoia 15.7, iOS 18.7, and iPadOS 18.7, with earlier versions presumably vulnerable though not explicitly specified. Exploitation requires local access and user interaction but does not require privileges beyond those of the app, making it accessible to any installed application. The CVSS v3.1 base score is 5.5 (medium severity), reflecting the local attack vector, low complexity, no privileges required, but requiring user interaction and impacting only availability. Apple has addressed this issue by improving validation mechanisms in the affected OS versions, preventing apps from causing denial-of-service conditions. No public exploits or active exploitation have been reported to date. This vulnerability primarily threatens system availability, potentially disrupting user productivity and critical services running on affected Apple devices.

For European organizations, the primary impact of CVE-2025-43295 is the potential for denial-of-service conditions on Apple devices, which can disrupt business operations, especially in environments relying heavily on macOS or iOS devices for critical tasks. This could affect sectors such as finance, healthcare, government, and technology where Apple hardware is prevalent. The disruption may lead to downtime, loss of productivity, and increased operational costs due to recovery efforts. Although the vulnerability does not compromise data confidentiality or integrity, availability impacts can indirectly affect service delivery and compliance with regulations requiring system uptime. Organizations with Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policies or those deploying Apple devices in sensitive environments should be cautious, as malicious or compromised apps could exploit this vulnerability. The absence of known exploits reduces immediate risk but does not eliminate the threat, especially as attackers may develop exploits post-publication. Therefore, European entities must consider this vulnerability in their risk assessments and incident response planning.

To mitigate CVE-2025-43295, European organizations should: 1) Promptly apply the security updates released by Apple for macOS Sonoma 14.8, macOS Sequoia 15.7, iOS 18.7, and iPadOS 18.7 to ensure the vulnerability is patched. 2) Enforce strict application installation policies, limiting apps to those from trusted sources such as the Apple App Store and using Mobile Device Management (MDM) solutions to control app deployment. 3) Implement endpoint monitoring to detect abnormal app behavior indicative of resource exhaustion attempts or denial-of-service conditions. 4) Educate users about the risks of installing untrusted applications and the importance of user interaction in exploitation scenarios. 5) For critical infrastructure, consider network segmentation and limiting local access to Apple devices to reduce the attack surface. 6) Maintain up-to-date backups and incident response plans to quickly recover from potential denial-of-service incidents. These measures go beyond generic advice by focusing on controlling app sources, monitoring resource usage patterns, and integrating patch management with organizational security policies.