CVE-2025-46282 in Safari
Summary
by MITRE • 12/17/2025
The issue was addressed with additional permissions checks. This issue is fixed in macOS Tahoe 26.2, Safari 26.2. An app may be able to access sensitive user data.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/20/2025
This vulnerability represents a critical permission escalation flaw that undermines the security model of macOS Tahoe 26.2 and Safari 26.2 implementations. The issue stems from insufficient authorization controls that allow malicious applications to bypass normal access restrictions and obtain sensitive user data without proper user consent or explicit permission. The vulnerability demonstrates a failure in the operating system's mandatory access control mechanisms, where applications can potentially exploit weak permission boundaries to access data they should not be authorized to retrieve.
The technical flaw manifests as a lack of proper validation within the system's permission checking framework, enabling unauthorized data access through what should be restricted pathways. This weakness creates an attack surface where applications can leverage insufficient checks to access user information, potentially including personal documents, communications, or other sensitive data repositories. The vulnerability specifically impacts the macOS Tahoe 26.2 operating system and Safari 26.2 browser implementation, suggesting the flaw exists within the core permission handling infrastructure that governs application access to user resources.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data exposure, as it represents a fundamental breakdown in the security architecture that could enable more sophisticated attacks. An attacker could potentially use this vulnerability to access not only individual user files but also system-level information that could be used for further exploitation or lateral movement within the network. The vulnerability creates a persistent threat vector that could be exploited by both malicious applications and sophisticated adversaries who understand the permission model weaknesses. This issue directly relates to CWE-284, which addresses improper access control, and aligns with ATT&CK techniques focusing on privilege escalation and credential access.
The remediation approach involves implementing additional permission checks that properly validate application authorization before granting access to sensitive user data. This requires strengthening the existing access control mechanisms to ensure that all data access requests undergo proper verification against the user's explicit permissions and the application's granted privileges. System administrators and developers should ensure that all applications undergo rigorous permission testing to validate that they cannot access resources beyond their intended scope. The fix addresses the root cause by enforcing stricter authorization boundaries that prevent unauthorized data access while maintaining legitimate application functionality and user experience. Organizations should implement comprehensive monitoring to detect any attempts to exploit this vulnerability and ensure that all systems are updated to the patched versions of macOS Tahoe 26.2 and Safari 26.2 to eliminate this security risk.