CVE-2025-43537VulnerabilityPublished 11 Feb 2026Updated 2 Apr 2026

CVE-2025-43537: Apple iOS and iPadOS · Path Traversal

Affects Apple iOS and iPadOSSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 3.5 Low : upgrade to 26.2 or 18.7.5 when convenient.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 08:11 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

3.5Low

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

EPSS: 0.5% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 45% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch: Available – fixed in 26.2, 18.7.5

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

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

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Network: The vulnerable component is bound to the network stack and the set of possible attackers extends beyond the other options listed, up to and including the entire Internet. Such a vulnerability is often termed 'remotely exploitable' and can be thought of as an attack being exploitable at the protocol level one or more network hops away (e.g., across one or more routers).
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: Required: Successful exploitation of this vulnerability requires a user to take some action before the vulnerability can be exploited.
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: None: There is no loss of confidentiality within the impacted component.
Integrity: Low: Modification of data is possible, but the attacker does not have control over the consequence of a modification, or the amount of modification is limited. The data modification does not have a direct, serious impact on 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 11 Feb 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 2026-10-26.

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

Upgrade Apple iOS and iPadOS to 26.2 or 18.7.5.

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
AppleiOS and iPadOS	Affected <18.7.5 <26.2	Fixed in 26.2 18.7.5

AI-suggested

To mitigate CVE-2025-43537, organizations should promptly update all Apple iOS and iPadOS devices to versions 18.7.5 or 26.2 and later, where the vulnerability is patched. Additionally, enforce strict policies to only restore backups from trusted and verified sources to prevent introduction of malicious backup files. Educate users about the risks of restoring backups from untrusted origins and the importance of verifying backup integrity. Implement mobile device management (MDM) solutions to control backup and restore operations centrally, restricting unauthorized backup restorations. Monitor device logs for unusual restoration activities and consider deploying endpoint detection tools capable of identifying unauthorized file modifications. Regularly audit device configurations and backup procedures to ensure compliance with security policies. Finally, maintain up-to-date incident response plans that include procedures for handling suspected device compromise due to backup restoration attacks.

Description

A path handling issue was addressed with improved validation. This issue is fixed in iOS 18.7.5 and iPadOS 18.7.5, iOS 26.2 and iPadOS 26.2. Restoring a maliciously crafted backup file may lead to modification of protected system files.

Impact

The primary impact of CVE-2025-43537 is the unauthorized modification of protected system files on affected Apple iOS and iPadOS devices. This compromises system integrity, potentially allowing attackers to alter system behavior, install persistent malware, or bypass security controls. While the vulnerability does not directly affect confidentiality or availability, the integrity breach can be a stepping stone for more severe attacks, including privilege escalation or persistent compromise. Organizations relying on Apple mobile devices for sensitive operations could face risks of device instability, data corruption, or unauthorized control if exploited. The requirement for user interaction and limited privileges reduces the likelihood of widespread automated exploitation, but targeted attacks against high-value users remain a concern. The absence of known exploits in the wild suggests limited current threat but does not preclude future exploitation attempts.

CWE-22Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal') (opens in a new tab)
Base weaknessLikelihood of exploit: HighCWE Top 25 (2025): #6OWASP Top 10 A01:2025: Broken Access Control (opens in a new tab)
The product uses external input to construct a pathname that is intended to identify a file or directory that is located underneath a restricted parent directory, but the product does not properly neutralize special elements within the pathname that can cause the pathname to resolve to a location that is outside of the restricted directory.
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.
Architecture and Design
For any security checks that are performed on the client side, ensure that these checks are duplicated on the server side, in order to avoid CWE-602. Attackers can bypass the client-side checks by modifying values after the checks have been performed, or by changing the client to remove the client-side checks…
Implementation · Input Validation
Inputs should be decoded and canonicalized to the application's current internal representation before being validated (CWE-180). Make sure that the application does not decode the same input twice (CWE-174).
OWASP Cheat Sheets
Authorization (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V12.3.1 (opens in a new tab)
Attack patterns
Path Traversal (opens in a new tab)
Using Slashes and URL Encoding Combined to Bypass Validation Logic (opens in a new tab)
Manipulating Web Input to File System Calls (opens in a new tab)
Using Escaped Slashes in Alternate Encoding (opens in a new tab)
Using Slashes in Alternate Encoding (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 3 Apr 2026, 02:38 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-22

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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