CVE-2025-43308 is a vulnerability identified in Apple's macOS operating system that allows an application to potentially access sensitive user data without proper authorization. The root cause of this vulnerability lies in insufficient entitlement checks, which are security mechanisms designed to restrict app capabilities and access to sensitive resources. By bypassing these entitlement checks, a malicious or compromised app could read sensitive user information that it should not have permission to access. This issue affects multiple versions of macOS prior to the patched releases: macOS Sequoia 15.7, macOS Sonoma 14.8, and macOS Tahoe 26. Apple addressed the vulnerability by enhancing entitlement verification processes to ensure that only properly authorized applications can access sensitive data. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-284, which relates to improper access control. According to the CVSS v3.1 scoring, the vulnerability has a low severity score of 3.3, with the vector indicating that exploitation requires local access (AV:L), low attack complexity (AC:L), low privileges (PR:L), no user interaction (UI:N), and impacts confidentiality only (C:L) without affecting integrity or availability. There are no known exploits in the wild at this time, and no specific affected versions were detailed beyond the fixed releases. This vulnerability highlights the importance of strict entitlement enforcement in macOS to protect user data from unauthorized access by applications running on the system.

For European organizations, the impact of CVE-2025-43308 is primarily related to the potential unauthorized disclosure of sensitive user data on macOS devices. Organizations that rely on macOS systems for business operations, especially those handling confidential or personal data, could face risks of data leakage if vulnerable versions are in use. Although the vulnerability requires local access and low privileges, it does not require user interaction, meaning that once an attacker gains limited access to a device, they could exploit this flaw to escalate their data access capabilities. This could lead to privacy violations, regulatory non-compliance (e.g., GDPR), and potential reputational damage. However, the low CVSS score and the absence of known exploits suggest that the immediate risk is limited. The impact is mitigated by the requirement for local presence, which reduces the likelihood of remote exploitation. Still, organizations with macOS endpoints should consider this vulnerability seriously, especially in environments where insider threats or compromised local accounts are plausible.

European organizations should implement the following specific mitigation strategies: 1) Ensure all macOS devices are promptly updated to the latest patched versions (macOS Sequoia 15.7, Sonoma 14.8, Tahoe 26 or later) to apply the entitlement check fixes. 2) Enforce strict endpoint security policies limiting local user privileges to the minimum necessary, reducing the risk of exploitation by low-privilege accounts. 3) Monitor and audit application installations and permissions on macOS systems to detect unauthorized or suspicious apps that may attempt to exploit entitlement weaknesses. 4) Employ endpoint detection and response (EDR) solutions capable of identifying anomalous access patterns to sensitive data on macOS devices. 5) Educate users and administrators about the risks of running untrusted applications and the importance of applying security updates promptly. 6) Implement strong access controls and multi-factor authentication for local accounts to reduce the risk of unauthorized local access. These measures, combined with timely patching, will significantly reduce the risk posed by this vulnerability.