CVE-2025-43391 is a privacy vulnerability identified in Apple’s macOS and related operating systems including iOS and iPadOS. The root cause is improper handling of temporary files, which allows an application to access sensitive user data that should otherwise be protected. This vulnerability falls under CWE-200 (Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor). The issue was addressed by Apple through improved management of temporary files in macOS Sequoia 15.7.2, Tahoe 26.1, Sonoma 14.8.2, and iOS/iPadOS 26.1 updates. According to the CVSS 3.1 vector (5.5 medium severity), exploitation requires local access (AV:L), low attack complexity (AC:L), no privileges (PR:N), and user interaction (UI:R). The scope is unchanged (S:U), and the impact is high on confidentiality (C:H) but none on integrity or availability (I:N/A:N). This means an attacker with local access and user interaction can potentially read sensitive data from temporary files that should have been protected. No known exploits have been reported in the wild, indicating this is a recently disclosed vulnerability. The vulnerability is significant because temporary files often contain sensitive information such as credentials, personal data, or application state, and unauthorized access could lead to privacy breaches or data leakage.

For European organizations, the primary impact is the potential exposure of sensitive user data on Apple devices running the affected OS versions. This could include corporate laptops, mobile devices, or any endpoint where sensitive information is processed or stored temporarily. Data leakage could lead to compliance violations under GDPR, reputational damage, and potential financial penalties. Since exploitation requires local access and user interaction, the risk is higher in environments where users may install untrusted applications or connect to insecure networks. Organizations with a high density of Apple devices, such as creative agencies, software development firms, and enterprises with BYOD policies, are particularly vulnerable. The confidentiality breach could expose intellectual property, personal employee data, or customer information. Although integrity and availability are not impacted, the privacy implications alone warrant immediate remediation.

1. Immediately deploy the security updates released by Apple for macOS Sequoia 15.7.2, Tahoe 26.1, Sonoma 14.8.2, iOS 26.1, and iPadOS 26.1 across all affected devices. 2. Enforce strict application installation policies to prevent users from installing untrusted or unsigned applications that could exploit this vulnerability. 3. Educate users about the risks of installing unknown apps and the importance of applying OS updates promptly. 4. Implement endpoint security solutions capable of monitoring and restricting access to temporary file directories. 5. Use Mobile Device Management (MDM) tools to enforce update compliance and restrict app permissions. 6. Audit and monitor local user activity for suspicious behavior indicative of attempts to access sensitive temporary files. 7. Where possible, limit local user privileges to reduce the attack surface. 8. Review and harden temporary file handling policies in internal applications to minimize sensitive data exposure.