CVE-2025-43266 in macOS
Summary
by MITRE • 07/30/2025
A permissions issue was addressed with additional restrictions. This issue is fixed in macOS Sequoia 15.6, macOS Sonoma 14.7.7, macOS Ventura 13.7.7. An app may be able to break out of its sandbox.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/02/2025
This vulnerability represents a critical sandbox escape flaw that undermines the fundamental security boundaries designed to isolate applications from system resources and other processes. The issue stems from insufficient permission controls that allow malicious applications to potentially bypass their designated sandbox constraints and access restricted system components. Such vulnerabilities are particularly dangerous because they directly compromise the operating system's security model, which relies on strict isolation between applications to prevent unauthorized access and data breaches.
The technical flaw manifests as a permissions escalation vulnerability that enables applications to break out of their designated sandbox environment through improper access control mechanisms. This type of vulnerability falls under the category of privilege escalation attacks and can be categorized as a sandbox escape or container breakout. The vulnerability affects multiple versions of apple's operating system including macos sequoia 15.6, macos sonoma 14.7.7, and macos ventura 13.7.7, indicating a widespread impact across the apple ecosystem. According to cwe standards, this vulnerability aligns with cwe-264 permissions, privileges, and access controls, specifically addressing improper access control within application sandboxing mechanisms.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe as it provides attackers with the capability to execute unauthorized actions that would normally be restricted within the sandboxed environment. An attacker could potentially access sensitive user data, system files, network resources, or other applications' data through this escape route. This vulnerability directly maps to several techniques described in the attack tactics and techniques framework, particularly those related to privilege escalation, persistence, and credential access. The vulnerability could enable attackers to establish persistent access to user systems and potentially escalate their privileges to gain administrative control over affected devices.
The security implications extend beyond immediate exploitation as this vulnerability undermines the trust model that users place in sandboxed applications. Applications that should be restricted to specific resources and capabilities could gain access to system-level functions, potentially enabling data exfiltration, system modification, or further attack vector establishment. Organizations running affected versions of macos should prioritize patching to prevent exploitation, as the vulnerability could be leveraged in targeted attacks against high-value targets or in mass exploitation campaigns. The fix implemented in the updated versions addresses the root cause by introducing additional restrictions and strengthening the permission controls that govern sandboxed application behavior.