CVE-2025-43466VulnerabilityPublished 12 Dec 2025Updated 2 Apr 2026

CVE-2025-43466: Apple macOS · An app may be able to access sensitive user data

Affects Apple macOSSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 5.5 Medium · fixed in 26.1 : update Apple macOS when convenient.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 06:26 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

5.5Medium

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

EPSS: 0.2% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 12% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch: Available – fixed in 26.1

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

Attack Vector: Local
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: Low
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: Local: The vulnerable component is not bound to the network stack and the attacker’s path is via read/write/execute capabilities. Either: the attacker exploits the vulnerability by accessing the target system locally (e.g., keyboard, console), or remotely (e.g., SSH); or the attacker relies on User Interaction by another person to perform actions required to exploit the vulnerability (e.g., tricking a legitimate user into opening a malicious document).
Attack Complexity: Low: Specialized access conditions or extenuating circumstances do not exist. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable component.
Privileges Required: Low: The attacker is authorized with (i.e., requires) privileges that provide basic user capabilities that could normally affect only settings and files owned by a user. Alternatively, an attacker with Low privileges may have the ability to cause an impact only to non-sensitive resources.
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 12 Dec 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 macOS	Affected =0	Fixed in–

AI-suggested

To mitigate CVE-2025-43466, organizations should promptly update all macOS devices to version Tahoe 26.1 or later, where the vulnerability has been fixed through improved input validation. Beyond patching, organizations should enforce the principle of least privilege by restricting app permissions and limiting local user access to trusted applications only. Implement application whitelisting and endpoint protection solutions that can detect anomalous behavior indicative of exploitation attempts. Regularly audit installed applications and remove unnecessary or untrusted software to reduce the attack surface. Employ strong endpoint security policies, including device encryption and secure boot mechanisms, to protect data even if local access is compromised. Educate users about the risks of installing untrusted applications and the importance of maintaining updated systems. For environments with sensitive data, consider additional monitoring for unusual local access patterns or data exfiltration attempts. Finally, maintain an incident response plan that includes procedures for addressing potential data breaches stemming from such vulnerabilities.

Description

An injection issue was addressed with improved validation. This issue is fixed in macOS Tahoe 26.1. An app may be able to access sensitive user data.

Impact

The primary impact of CVE-2025-43466 is the unauthorized disclosure of sensitive user data on affected macOS systems. Organizations relying on macOS devices for business operations, especially those handling sensitive or regulated data, face confidentiality risks if this vulnerability is exploited. While the attack requires local access and limited privileges, insider threats or malware that gains foothold on a device could leverage this flaw to escalate data access. The lack of required user interaction lowers the barrier for exploitation once local access is obtained. Although integrity and availability are not impacted, the breach of confidentiality can lead to data leaks, regulatory non-compliance, reputational damage, and potential financial losses. Enterprises with macOS endpoints in sectors such as finance, healthcare, and government are particularly at risk due to the sensitivity of data processed. The absence of known exploits in the wild currently reduces immediate risk but does not eliminate the threat, especially as attackers may develop exploits over time.

CWE-95Improper Neutralization of Directives in Dynamically Evaluated Code ('Eval Injection') (opens in a new tab)
Variant weaknessLikelihood of exploit: MediumOWASP Top 10 A05:2025: Injection (opens in a new tab)
The product receives input from an upstream component, but it does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes code syntax before using the input in a dynamic evaluation call (e.g. "eval").
Architecture and Design · Implementation · Refactoring
If possible, refactor your code so that it does not need to use eval() at all.
Implementation · Input Validation
Assume all input is malicious. Use an "accept known good" input validation strategy, i.e., use a list of acceptable inputs that strictly conform to specifications. Reject any input that does not strictly conform to specifications, or transform it into something that does.
Implementation
Inputs should be decoded and canonicalized to the application's current internal representation before being validated (CWE-180, CWE-181). Make sure that your application does not inadvertently decode the same input twice (CWE-174).
OWASP Cheat Sheets
Deserialization (opens in a new tab)
XML Security (opens in a new tab)
XML External Entity Prevention (opens in a new tab)
Server Side Request Forgery Prevention (opens in a new tab)
Unvalidated Redirects and Forwards (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V5.5.4 (opens in a new tab)
V5.2.4 (opens in a new tab)
V1.5.1 (opens in a new tab)
Attack patterns
Leverage Executable Code in Non-Executable Files (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

support.apple.com/en-us/125634 (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, 02:26 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-95

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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