What is the CVSS score of CVE-2025-43222?

CVE-2025-43222 has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 9.8 (Critical). CVSS vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H. EPSS exploitation probability: 0.1%.

Which versions of iOS are affected by CVE-2025-43222?

CVE-2025-43222 is a critical use-after-free vulnerability affecting multiple Apple operating systems (macOS Sequoia, Sonoma, Ventura and iPadOS 17.x) that allows unauthenticated remote attackers to…

How to fix or mitigate CVE-2025-43222?

Within 24 hours: Inventory all macOS and iPadOS devices across the organization and identify systems running Sequoia 15.x, Sonoma 14.x, Ventura 13.x, or iPadOS 17.x. Within 7 days: Deploy Apple security updates released July 2025 to all affected devices (macOS patches for each OS version and iPadOS 17 security update); prioritize user-facing and internet-connected systems first. Within 30 days: Achieve 100% patch compliance across all in-scope Apple devices; conduct verification scanning to confirm patch application and document completion.

iOS CVE-2025-43222

CRITICAL

Use After Free (CWE-416)

2025-07-30 product-security@apple.com

Apple iOS macOS Use After Free Denial Of Service Ipados

9.8

CVSS 3.1 · NVD

Severity by source

NVD PRIMARY

9.8 CRITICAL

AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Primary rating from NVD · only source for this CVE.

CVSS VectorNVD

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Attack Vector

Network

Attack Complexity

Low

Privileges Required

None

User Interaction

None

Scope

Unchanged

Confidentiality

High

Integrity

High

Availability

High

Lifecycle Timeline

Analysis Generated

Apr 02, 2026 - 19:37 vuln.today

CVE Published

Jul 30, 2025 - 00:15 nvd

CRITICAL 9.8

DescriptionCVE.org

A use-after-free issue was addressed by removing the vulnerable code. This issue is fixed in iPadOS 17.7.9, macOS Sequoia 15.6, macOS Sonoma 14.7.7, macOS Ventura 13.7.7. An attacker may be able to cause unexpected app termination.

AnalysisAI

Use-after-free memory corruption in Apple's operating systems (iPadOS 17.x, macOS Sequoia 15.x, Sonoma 14.x, Ventura 13.x) allows network-based attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause denial of service without authentication. The vulnerability was remediated by removing the vulnerable code entirely rather than patching it. Despite a critical CVSS 9.8 score, EPSS indicates only 0.08% exploitation probability (24th percentile), and no public exploit identified at time of analysis. Apple released patches in July 2025 across all affected platforms simultaneously.

Technical ContextAI

This vulnerability manifests as a use-after-free condition (CWE-416), a class of memory corruption defect where code attempts to access memory after it has been freed. Use-after-free bugs occur when improper memory lifecycle management causes dangling pointers to reference deallocated heap memory. When exploited, attackers can manipulate freed memory contents to achieve arbitrary code execution, information disclosure, or denial of service. The affected products span Apple's entire desktop and tablet operating system portfolio: iPadOS 17.x, macOS Ventura 13.x, macOS Sonoma 14.x, and macOS Sequoia 15.x. Apple's remediation approach-removing vulnerable code entirely rather than attempting to fix the memory management-suggests the affected component was either deprecated functionality or code that could be safely eliminated without impacting core system functionality. This architectural decision reduces future attack surface but may indicate the code path was sufficiently complex that secure refactoring was deemed infeasible.

RemediationAI

Vendor-released patches are available: upgrade iPadOS to version 17.7.9 or later, macOS Sequoia to 15.6 or later, macOS Sonoma to 14.7.7 or later, or macOS Ventura to 13.7.7 or later. Apple addressed the vulnerability by removing the affected code entirely rather than patching the use-after-free condition, eliminating future exploitation risk for this specific code path. Patches were released simultaneously in July 2025 through Apple's standard update mechanisms (System Settings > General > Software Update for macOS, Settings > General > Software Update for iPadOS). Organizations should apply updates through Mobile Device Management systems for enterprise deployments. Complete remediation guidance is available in Apple security advisories at https://support.apple.com/en-us/124148 (Ventura), https://support.apple.com/en-us/124149 (Sonoma), https://support.apple.com/en-us/124150 (Sequoia), and https://support.apple.com/en-us/124151 (iPadOS). No workarounds are documented; patching is the only remediation path.