VulnerabilityPublished 21 Nov 2025Updated 2 Apr 2026

CVE-2025-43374: Apple iOS and iPadOS · Stack-based Buffer Overflow

Affects Apple iOS and iPadOSSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 4.3 Medium · fixed in 18.5 : update Apple iOS and iPadOS when convenient.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 11:07 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

4.3Medium

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 18.5

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

Attack Vector: Physical
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: None
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality: Low
Integrity: Low
Availability: Low

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Physical: The attack requires the attacker to physically touch or manipulate the vulnerable component. Physical interaction may be brief or persistent.
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: Low: Performance is reduced or there are interruptions in resource availability. Even if repeated exploitation of the vulnerability is possible, the attacker does not have the ability to completely deny service to legitimate users. The resources in the impacted component are either partially available all of the time, or fully available only some of the time, but overall there is no direct, serious consequence to the impacted component.

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 21 Nov 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 iOS and iPadOS	Affected =0	Fixed in–

AI-suggested

Apply the latest security updates from Apple immediately, including iOS 18.5, iPadOS 18.5, macOS Sequoia 15.5, and corresponding patches for other affected OS versions.
Enforce strict physical security controls to prevent unauthorized individuals from gaining proximity to devices, especially in sensitive environments.
Implement device management policies that restrict device usage in untrusted locations and monitor for unusual physical access patterns.
Use hardware-based security features such as Secure Enclave and enable full disk encryption to limit the impact of kernel memory disclosures.
Educate users about the risks of leaving devices unattended and encourage the use of strong authentication mechanisms to reduce the window of opportunity for attackers.
Monitor system logs and behavior for signs of kernel instability or crashes that could indicate attempted exploitation.
For organizations with high security requirements, consider additional endpoint detection and response (EDR) solutions capable of detecting anomalous kernel-level activities.

Description

An out-of-bounds read was addressed with improved bounds checking. This issue is fixed in iOS 18.5 and iPadOS 18.5, iPadOS 17.7.7, macOS Sequoia 15.5, macOS Sonoma 14.7.3, macOS Ventura 13.7.3, tvOS 18.5, visionOS 2.5, watchOS 11.5. An attacker in physical proximity may be able to cause an out-of-bounds read in kernel memory.

Impact

The vulnerability allows an attacker with physical proximity to perform an out-of-bounds read in kernel memory, which can lead to unauthorized disclosure of sensitive information stored in kernel space. This compromises confidentiality and may also affect system integrity and availability by causing kernel crashes or unpredictable behavior. For organizations, this could mean exposure of sensitive data, disruption of critical services, and potential escalation paths for further attacks. The impact is particularly significant for high-value targets using Apple devices in environments where physical access controls are weak, such as public spaces, conferences, or workplaces with shared devices. Although the CVSS score is medium, the kernel-level access elevates the risk beyond typical user-space vulnerabilities. The lack of required privileges or user interaction lowers the barrier for exploitation, increasing the threat in scenarios where attackers can get close to devices.

CWE-121Stack-based Buffer Overflow (opens in a new tab)
Variant weaknessLikelihood of exploit: HighCWE Top 25 (2025): #14
A stack-based buffer overflow condition is a condition where the buffer being overwritten is allocated on the stack (i.e., is a local variable or, rarely, a parameter to a function).
Operation · Build and Compilation · Environment Hardening
Use automatic buffer overflow detection mechanisms that are offered by certain compilers or compiler extensions. Examples include: the Microsoft Visual Studio /GS flag, Fedora/Red Hat FORTIFY_SOURCE GCC flag, StackGuard, and ProPolice, which provide various mechanisms including canary-based detection and range/index…
Architecture and Design
Use an abstraction library to abstract away risky APIs. Not a complete solution.
Implementation
Implement and perform bounds checking on input.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
XML Security (opens in a new tab)
Mass Assignment (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V13.3.1 (opens in a new tab)
V5.1.4 (opens in a new tab)
V5.1.3 (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, 02:08 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-121

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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