CVE-2025-43459VulnerabilityPublished 4 Nov 2025Updated 2 Apr 2026

CVE-2025-43459: Apple watchOS · An attacker with physical access to a locked Apple Watch may be able to view Live Voicemail

Affects Apple watchOSSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 4.6 Medium · fixed in 26.1 : update Apple watchOS when convenient.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 06:26 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

4.6Medium

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

EPSS: 0.2% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 15% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch: Available – fixed in 26.1

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

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

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: High: There is total loss of confidentiality, resulting in all resources within the impacted component being divulged to the attacker. Alternatively, access to only some restricted information is obtained, but the disclosed information presents a direct, serious impact.
Integrity: None: There is no loss of integrity within the impacted component.
Availability: None: There is no impact to availability within the impacted component.

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 4 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 2026-10-26.

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 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 watchOS	Affected =0	Fixed in–

AI-suggested

To mitigate CVE-2025-43459, organizations and users should promptly update all affected Apple Watches to watchOS 26.1 or later, where the vulnerability is fixed through improved state management. Physical security controls should be enhanced to prevent unauthorized access to devices, including enforcing strict policies on device handling and storage. Consider disabling Live Voicemail features on Apple Watches if not essential, reducing the attack surface. Employ multi-factor authentication and strong passcodes on paired iPhones to limit voicemail access. Regularly audit device usage and educate users about the risks of leaving devices unattended. For organizations, implement endpoint management solutions to enforce timely OS updates and monitor device compliance. Additionally, review voicemail system configurations to ensure voicemail content is protected at the source and consider alternative secure communication methods if voicemail confidentiality is critical.

Description

An authentication issue was addressed with improved state management. This issue is fixed in watchOS 26.1. An attacker with physical access to a locked Apple Watch may be able to view Live Voicemail.

Impact

The primary impact of CVE-2025-43459 is the compromise of confidentiality. An attacker with physical access to a locked Apple Watch can view Live Voicemail content without authentication, potentially exposing sensitive personal or corporate information contained in voicemail messages. This could lead to privacy violations, social engineering attacks, or leakage of confidential communications. Since the vulnerability does not affect integrity or availability, the device’s operation and data modification remain secure. However, the requirement for physical access limits the attack vector to scenarios where the device is unattended or stolen. Organizations with employees who use Apple Watches for business communications may face increased risk of sensitive data exposure. The lack of known exploits reduces immediate risk, but the vulnerability remains a concern until devices are updated. The impact is particularly relevant in sectors handling sensitive information such as finance, healthcare, and government.

CWE-863Incorrect Authorization (opens in a new tab)
Class weaknessLikelihood of exploit: HighCWE Top 25 (2025): #17OWASP Top 10 A01:2025: Broken Access Control (opens in a new tab)
The product performs an authorization check when an actor attempts to access a resource or perform an action, but it does not correctly perform the check.
Architecture and Design
Divide the product into anonymous, normal, privileged, and administrative areas. Reduce the attack surface by carefully mapping roles with data and functionality. Use role-based access control (RBAC) to enforce the roles at the appropriate boundaries.
Architecture and Design
Ensure that access control checks are performed related to the business logic. These checks may be different than the access control checks that are applied to more generic resources such as files, connections, processes, memory, and database records.
Architecture and Design · Libraries or Frameworks
Use a vetted library or framework that does not allow this weakness to occur or provides constructs that make this weakness easier to avoid.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
Authorization (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V8.3.8 (opens in a new tab)
V13.4.2 (opens in a new tab)
V7.2.2 (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

support.apple.com/en-us/125639 (opens in a new tab)

Community reviews

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 3 Apr 2026, 02:25 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-863

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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