Overview
The cybersecurity world is a dynamic and ever-evolving landscape with new vulnerabilities being discovered on a regular basis. One such vulnerability, CVE-2025-43192, has been recently identified and poses a significant threat to the macOS ecosystem. This vulnerability affects macOS Sequoia 15.6 and macOS Sonoma 14.7.7. The criticality of this issue stems from the fact that it could potentially lead to system compromise or data leakage, even when Lockdown Mode is turned on.
Vulnerability Summary
CVE ID: CVE-2025-43192
Severity: Critical (CVSS 9.8)
Attack Vector: Network
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: Required
Impact: System compromise or data leakage
Affected Products
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Product | Affected Versions
macOS Sequoia | 15.6
macOS Sonoma | 14.7.7
How the Exploit Works
The vulnerability arises from a configuration issue associated with the Account-driven User Enrollment process. Even with Lockdown Mode activated, a malicious actor may exploit this vulnerability to gain unauthorized access to the system, potentially leading to system compromise or data leakage. This can be achieved by exploiting network protocols to manipulate the Enrollment process, thereby bypassing the security measures put in place by Lockdown Mode.
Conceptual Example Code
Below is a conceptual example of how the vulnerability might be exploited. This is a sample HTTP request that sends a malicious payload to a vulnerable endpoint.
POST /enroll-user HTTP/1.1
Host: target.example.com
Content-Type: application/json
{
"user": "malicious_user",
"password": "malicious_password",
"enrollment_token": "malicious_token"
}In the above example, the attacker attempts to enroll a malicious user by sending a crafted HTTP request to the enrollment endpoint. The use of a malicious enrollment token is meant to trick the system into granting unauthorized access.
Mitigation
Until macOS Sequoia 15.6 and macOS Sonoma 14.7.7 users can apply the vendor patch to address this vulnerability, users are advised to implement a Web Application Firewall (WAF) or an Intrusion Detection System (IDS) as a temporary mitigation measure to detect and block potential exploit attempts. Users should also stay updated with any new patches or updates released by the vendor to ensure the security of their systems.