CVE-2025-31258 in macOS
Summary
by MITRE • 05/13/2025
This issue was addressed by removing the vulnerable code. This issue is fixed in macOS Sequoia 15.5. An app may be able to break out of its sandbox.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/14/2025
This vulnerability represents a sandbox escape flaw that could potentially allow malicious applications to bypass system security controls on macOS. The issue was specifically addressed through code removal rather than patching, indicating a fundamental design or implementation problem that required complete elimination of the vulnerable functionality. The fix was incorporated into macOS Sequoia 15.5, demonstrating Apple's approach to resolving critical sandboxing issues through major system updates. Sandboxing is a critical security mechanism that isolates applications from system resources and other applications to prevent unauthorized access and data breaches. When an application can break out of its sandbox, it essentially gains elevated privileges and access to resources that should be restricted, creating a significant security risk.
The technical nature of this vulnerability aligns with common sandbox escape patterns where applications exploit weaknesses in system call filtering, memory management, or privilege escalation mechanisms. Such flaws typically arise from improper validation of application requests, insufficient kernel-level controls, or flawed inter-process communication protocols that allow unauthorized access to system resources. The vulnerability's classification under CWE categories related to sandboxing and privilege escalation reflects the severity of the potential impact. Attackers could leverage this weakness to access sensitive user data, system files, or other applications' resources without proper authorization, effectively neutralizing the security boundaries that sandboxing is designed to maintain.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple privilege escalation to encompass potential data exfiltration, system compromise, and lateral movement within affected environments. Organizations relying on macOS for security-sensitive operations would face increased risk of unauthorized access to confidential information, particularly in enterprise settings where sandboxed applications handle sensitive data processing. The fact that this issue required a major OS version update suggests it was not a minor configuration flaw but rather a fundamental weakness in the system's security architecture. This type of vulnerability often requires immediate attention from security teams and system administrators to ensure proper patching and monitoring of affected systems.
Mitigation strategies should prioritize immediate deployment of macOS Sequoia 15.5 across all affected systems to eliminate the vulnerability. Security teams should implement comprehensive monitoring for suspicious application behavior that might indicate exploitation attempts, particularly focusing on applications that request unusual system access or attempt to access restricted resources. Additional protective measures include implementing network-based monitoring to detect unauthorized data transfers, maintaining up-to-date threat intelligence on related sandbox escape techniques, and conducting regular security assessments of applications running in sandboxed environments. The vulnerability's resolution through code removal rather than patching indicates that the risk was significant enough that partial fixes would not adequately address the underlying security concern, emphasizing the importance of complete system updates for maintaining security integrity.