Overview
In this blog post, we will delve deep into a critical vulnerability, CVE-2025-43243, that has surfaced in macOS, impacting multiple versions. This vulnerability stems from a permissions issue, which, if exploited, could allow an application to alter protected parts of the file system. This issue is of high significance, as it can potentially lead to a full system compromise or data leakage. Given the widespread use of macOS across various industries and personal computing, this vulnerability represents a significant risk that must be addressed promptly.
Vulnerability Summary
CVE ID: CVE-2025-43243
Severity: Critical, CVSS 9.8
Attack Vector: Local
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: Required
Impact: System compromise or data leakage
Affected Products
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Product | Affected Versions
macOS Sequoia | Prior to 15.6
macOS Ventura | Prior to 13.7.7
macOS Sonoma | Prior to 14.7.7
How the Exploit Works
The vulnerability stems from improper permission configurations within the macOS file system. Essentially, the file system doesn’t enforce the necessary restrictions on certain protected parts, allowing applications to make modifications where they shouldn’t have access. A malicious application or script can exploit this vulnerability to tamper with these protected regions, potentially causing system instability, data corruption, or even a complete system takeover.
Conceptual Example Code
For illustration purposes, let’s consider a conceptual example of how an attacker might exploit this vulnerability using a shell command:
# This is a conceptual example, not actual exploit code
$ malicious_app --modify --target /protected/directory --payload malicious_payloadIn this example, the `malicious_app` represents an app that has been designed to exploit the permissions issue. The `–modify` option indicates an action to modify a target directory, specified by `–target`. The `–payload` option is followed by the actual malicious payload that the app attempts to write into the protected directory.
Mitigation
The best way to mitigate this vulnerability is to apply the vendor-supplied patches. Apple has addressed this issue in macOS Sequoia 15.6, macOS Ventura 13.7.7, and macOS Sonoma 14.7.7. Therefore, users are urged to update their systems to these versions or later. As a temporary mitigation, a Web Application Firewall (WAF) or an Intrusion Detection System (IDS) can be used to detect and prevent attempts to exploit this vulnerability. However, these measures should not replace patching the system, which is the definitive solution.