What is the CVSS score of CVE-2025-43320?

CVE-2025-43320 has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.8 (High). CVSS vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H. EPSS exploitation probability: 0.0%.

Which versions of macOS are affected by CVE-2025-43320?

CVE-2025-43320 is a high-severity privilege escalation vulnerability affecting macOS Sequoia (15.7.2 and earlier) and macOS Tahoe (pre-26) that allows authenticated local users to bypass Apple's…

How to fix or mitigate CVE-2025-43320?

Within 24 hours: Inventory all macOS Sequoia (≤15.7.2) and Tahoe (pre-26) devices across the organization and restrict local administrative access to vetted personnel only; disable unnecessary local user account creation. Within 7 days: Implement mandatory full-disk encryption (FileVault 2) if not already enabled, enforce System Integrity Protection (SIP) verification across all macOS endpoints, and apply the latest available security updates (currently 15.7.2 for Sequoia as a temporary measure). Within 30 days: Monitor Apple security advisories for patch availability and establish expedited deployment procedures; consider device isolation or elevated monitoring for high-risk systems; evaluate phased migration to patched macOS versions when available.

macOS CVE-2025-43320

HIGH

Improper Privilege Management (CWE-269)

2025-12-12 product-security@apple.com

Apple macOS Privilege Escalation RCE

7.8

CVSS 3.1 · NVD

Severity by source

NVD PRIMARY

7.8 HIGH

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

Attack Vector

Local

Attack Complexity

Low

Privileges Required

Low

User Interaction

None

Scope

Unchanged

Confidentiality

High

Integrity

High

Availability

High

Lifecycle Timeline

Analysis Generated

Apr 02, 2026 - 19:37 vuln.today

CVE Published

Dec 12, 2025 - 21:15 nvd

HIGH 7.8

DescriptionCVE.org

The issue was addressed by adding additional logic. This issue is fixed in macOS Sequoia 15.7.3, macOS Tahoe 26. An app may be able to bypass launch constraint protections and execute malicious code with elevated privileges.

AnalysisAI

macOS launch constraint bypass enables authenticated local users to execute code with elevated privileges on macOS Sequoia (up to 15.7.2) and macOS Tahoe (pre-26). The vulnerability requires low-complexity exploitation by a user with existing local access, allowing them to circumvent Apple's launch constraint security framework and achieve full system compromise (high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact). No public exploit identified at time of analysis, with EPSS indicating only 0.02% probability of exploitation in the wild (5th percentile).

Technical ContextAI

Launch constraints are a macOS security mechanism introduced to restrict which processes can be launched and what privileges they can obtain, forming part of Apple's defense-in-depth architecture. This CWE-269 (Improper Privilege Management) flaw allows applications to bypass these runtime protections through logic flaws in the constraint validation code. The vulnerability affects the core operating system privilege escalation controls across macOS Sequoia 15.x series and the newer macOS Tahoe (version 26) platform. Apple addressed the issue by implementing additional validation logic in the launch constraint enforcement subsystem, suggesting the original implementation had insufficient checks during privilege elevation requests or constraint policy enforcement.

RemediationAI

Vendor-released patches are available through Apple's standard update mechanisms. Users running macOS Sequoia should immediately upgrade to version 15.7.3 or later via System Settings > General > Software Update or through Apple's Software Update service. Users on macOS Tahoe preview/beta builds should upgrade to macOS Tahoe version 26 or later. Apple addressed the vulnerability by implementing additional logic checks in the launch constraint validation subsystem as documented in security advisories HT216018 (https://support.apple.com/en-us/125887) and HT216005 (https://support.apple.com/en-us/125110). No workarounds are available for this privilege escalation vulnerability; patching to the fixed versions is the only effective remediation. Organizations should prioritize updates for systems with multiple user accounts or where untrusted applications may be installed. Standard macOS security practices of limiting application installation sources and maintaining least-privilege user accounts provide defense-in-depth but do not eliminate the vulnerability.