CVE-2025-43521: Medium severity Apple macOS Tahoe vulnerability

Published Dec 12, 2025
·
Updated

A downgrade issue affecting Intel-based Mac computers was addressed with additional code-signing restrictions. This issue is fixed in macOS Sequoia 15.7.3, macOS Tahoe 26.2. An app may be able to access sensitive user data.

Other sources

App Store. A permissions issue was addressed with additional restrictions.

— Apple

AppleJPEG. The issue was addressed with improved bounds checks.

— Apple

AppleMobileFileIntegrity. A downgrade issue affecting Intel-based Mac computers was addressed with additional code-signing restrictions.

— Apple

AppleMobileFileIntegrity. A permissions issue was addressed with additional restrictions.

— Apple

AppleMobileFileIntegrity. The issue was addressed by adding additional logic.

— Apple

Credit

Michael Reeves@@IntegralPilot, Claudio Bozzato(Cisco Talos), Francesco Benvenuto(Cisco Talos), an anonymous researcher, Jex Amro, Wojciech Regula(SecuRing), Riley Walz, CVE-2024-7264, CVE-2025-9086, Yiğit Ocak, Noah Gregory (wts.dev), Andrew Calvano(Meta Product Security), Lucas Pinheiro(Meta Product Security), Andreas Jaegersberger & Ro Achterberg(Nosebeard Labs), Kaitao Xie(Alibaba Group), Xiaolong Bai(Alibaba Group), CVE-2025-5918, Rosyna Keller(Totally Not Malicious Software), Haoling Zhou(SecLab of The Ohio State University), Shixuan Zhao@@NSKernel(SecLab of The Ohio State University), Chao Wang@@evi0s(SecLab of The Ohio State University), Zhiqiang Lin(SecLab of The Ohio State University), Mickey Jin@@patch1t, Amy@@asentientbot, Gergely Kalman@@gergely_kalman, Kay Belardinelli (Harvard University), floeki(IES Red Team of ByteDance), Zhongcheng Li(IES Red Team of ByteDance), Ron Elemans, Kirin@@Pwnrin(Fudan University), LFY@@secsys(Fudan University), Duy Trần@@khanhduytran0, Csaba Fitzl@@theevilbit(Iru), Kenneth Chew, Google Threat Analysis Group, Atul R V, an anonymous researcher(Technische Hochschule Ingolstadt), Michael Schmutzer(Technische Hochschule Ingolstadt), @@retsew0x01, Kirin@@Pwnrin, Iván Savransky, Bing Shi(Alibaba Group), Wenchao Li(Alibaba Group), (Indiana University Bloomington), Luyi Xing(Indiana University Bloomington), Morris Richman@@morrisinlife, Hossein Lotfi@@hosselot(Trend Micro Zero Day Initiative), Nan Wang@@eternalsakura13, Google Big Sleep, Phil Pizlo(Epic Games), Apple, 이동하 (Lee Dong Ha(BoB 14th)

Affected Software

3 affected componentsFixes available
Apple macOS Tahoe<26.2
26.2
Apple macOS Sequoia<15.7.3
15.7.3
Apple macOS<15.7.3

Event History

Dec 12, 2025
Data Sourced
via Apple·12:00 AM
DescriptionWeaknessAffected Software
Updated
via Apple·12:00 AM
DescriptionWeakness
Updated
via Apple·12:00 AM
Affected Software
Updated
via Apple·12:00 AM
DescriptionWeaknessAffected Software
CVE Published
via MITRE·08:56 PM
Data Sourced
via MITRE·08:56 PM
DescriptionWeakness
Data Sourced
via NVD·09:15 PM
DescriptionSeverityWeaknessAffected Software

Parent advisories

This vulnerability appears in the following advisories.

Peer vulnerabilities

Found alongside the following vulnerabilities.

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Frequently Asked Questions

1

What is the severity of CVE-2025-43521?

CVE-2025-43521 is considered a moderate severity vulnerability due to the risk of unauthorized access to sensitive user data.

2

How do I fix CVE-2025-43521?

To fix CVE-2025-43521, upgrade to macOS Sequoia 15.7.3 or later.

3

Which versions of macOS are affected by CVE-2025-43521?

macOS Tahoe versions prior to 26.2 and macOS Sequoia versions prior to 15.7.3 are affected by CVE-2025-43521.

4

What issue does CVE-2025-43521 address?

CVE-2025-43521 addresses a downgrade issue that could allow apps to access sensitive user data.

5

Is there any additional information on CVE-2025-43521?

Additional details regarding CVE-2025-43521 are available from Apple's advisory and support documentation.

Company

Resources

Contact

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