CVE-2025-43382

Vulnerability

Overview

CVE-2025-43382 is a medium-severity vulnerability in macOS that stems from a parsing issue in the handling of directory paths. The root cause is insufficient validation of directory path inputs, which could allow an application to bypass normal sandbox restrictions and access sensitive user data. Apple addressed the issue with improved path validation in the latest macOS updates [1][2][3].

Exploitation and

Attack Surface

The vulnerability can be exploited by an app running on the affected macOS versions of macOS. No special privileges or user interaction beyond running the app are required; the app can leverage the flawed path parsing to access data it should not be able to reach. The attack surface is local, meaning an attacker would need to have the ability to execute code on the target system, such as through a malicious application downloaded by the user [1][2][3].

Impact

If successfully exploited, an attacker could gain access to sensitive user data that would otherwise be protected by macOS's security mechanisms. This could include personal files, credentials, or other confidential information stored on the device. The impact is limited to data access; the vulnerability does not appear to allow code execution or privilege escalation beyond the app's sandbox [1][2][3].

Mitigation

Apple has released patches for this vulnerability in macOS Sequoia 15.7.2, macOS Sonoma 14.8.2, and macOS Tahoe 26.1, all published on November 3, 2025. Users are strongly advised to update their systems to the latest available versions to protect against potential exploitation. No workarounds have been provided by Apple [1][2][3].