CVE-2025-43508VulnerabilityPublished 16 Jan 2026Updated 2 Apr 2026

CVE-2025-43508: 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 : upgrade to 26.1 when convenient.

Data as of 25 Oct 2026, 19:02 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

5.5Medium

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

EPSS: 0.1% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 5% 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 16 Jan 2026
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 2026-10-25.

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

Upgrade Apple macOS to 26.1.

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
ApplemacOS	Affected <26.1	Fixed in 26.1

AI-suggested

To mitigate CVE-2025-43508, organizations should promptly apply the security update provided in macOS Tahoe 26.1 or later, which includes improved data redaction in logging. Beyond patching, administrators should audit and restrict access permissions to log files to ensure only authorized processes and users can read sensitive logs. Implement application whitelisting or sandboxing to limit the ability of local apps to access system logs or sensitive data. Review and minimize the amount of sensitive information logged by applications and system components, adopting privacy-by-design principles in logging practices. Employ endpoint security solutions that monitor for unusual local application behavior that might indicate attempts to access sensitive logs. Educate users about the risks of running untrusted applications locally. For environments with shared devices, enforce strict user separation and privilege management to reduce the risk of local exploitation. Regularly review macOS security advisories for updates or additional mitigations related to logging and data exposure.

Description

A logging issue was addressed with improved data redaction. 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-2025-43508 is the potential unauthorized disclosure of sensitive user data on affected macOS systems. Organizations relying on macOS devices, especially those processing confidential or regulated information, could face data leakage risks if local applications exploit this vulnerability. This could lead to privacy violations, compliance issues, and reputational damage. Since exploitation requires local access and limited privileges, the threat is more relevant in environments where users may run untrusted or malicious applications locally, such as in shared workstations or BYOD scenarios. The vulnerability does not affect system integrity or availability, so it does not directly enable system compromise or denial of service. However, exposure of sensitive data could facilitate further attacks or social engineering. The absence of known exploits reduces immediate risk but does not eliminate the potential for future exploitation. Organizations with high-value targets or sensitive data on macOS devices should consider this vulnerability a moderate risk that warrants timely remediation.

CWE-532Insertion of Sensitive Information into Log File (opens in a new tab)
Base weaknessLikelihood of exploit: MediumOWASP Top 10 A09:2025: Security Logging & Alerting Failures (opens in a new tab)
The product writes sensitive information to a log file.
Architecture and Design · Implementation
Consider seriously the sensitivity of the information written into log files. Do not write secrets into the log files.
Distribution
Remove debug log files before deploying the application into production.
Operation
Protect log files against unauthorized read/write.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
Application Logging Vocabulary (opens in a new tab)
Logging (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V7.1.1 (opens in a new tab)
V7.1.2 (opens in a new tab)
V8.3.5 (opens in a new tab)
Attack patterns
Fuzzing for application mapping (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, 02:33 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-532

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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