CVE-2025-43420 is a race condition vulnerability identified in Apple macOS that allows an application to potentially access sensitive user data improperly. The root cause is a race condition related to inadequate state management within the operating system, categorized under CWE-362 (Race Condition). This flaw enables a local application with low privileges (PR:L) to exploit timing issues to gain unauthorized read access to sensitive data, without requiring user interaction (UI:N). The vulnerability affects multiple macOS versions prior to Sequoia 15.7.2, Tahoe 26.1, and Sonoma 14.8.2, where Apple implemented improved state handling to fix the issue. The CVSS v3.1 base score is 4.7, reflecting a medium severity level due to the high attack complexity (AC:H) and the requirement for local access vector (AV:L). The vulnerability impacts confidentiality (C:H) but does not affect integrity or availability. No public exploits have been reported, indicating limited current exploitation. The vulnerability is significant because it could allow malicious or compromised applications to bypass normal access controls and read sensitive user information, potentially leading to privacy breaches or further attacks if leveraged in combination with other vulnerabilities.

For European organizations, the primary impact of CVE-2025-43420 is the potential unauthorized disclosure of sensitive user data on macOS systems. This could include personal information, credentials, or corporate data stored or processed on affected devices. Confidentiality breaches can lead to regulatory non-compliance issues under GDPR, reputational damage, and potential financial losses. Organizations in sectors such as finance, healthcare, government, and technology that rely on Apple hardware and software are particularly vulnerable. Since exploitation requires local access and low privileges, insider threats or compromised endpoints pose a significant risk vector. The absence of integrity or availability impact limits the scope to data confidentiality, but the sensitivity of exposed data could still be critical. The medium severity rating suggests that while the vulnerability is not trivial to exploit, it warrants prompt attention to prevent escalation or combined attacks.

1. Apply the official patches released by Apple for macOS Sequoia 15.7.2, Tahoe 26.1, and Sonoma 14.8.2 immediately to all affected systems. 2. Enforce strict application control policies to limit installation and execution of untrusted or unnecessary applications, reducing the risk of local exploitation. 3. Implement endpoint detection and response (EDR) solutions capable of monitoring for anomalous local process behavior indicative of race condition exploitation attempts. 4. Restrict user privileges and employ the principle of least privilege to minimize the ability of low-privileged applications to access sensitive data. 5. Regularly audit and review macOS security configurations and access controls to ensure compliance with best practices. 6. Educate users about the risks of installing unverified software and the importance of reporting suspicious activity. 7. Consider network segmentation and device management policies to isolate critical macOS endpoints and limit lateral movement in case of compromise.