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How CVE-2025-25251 Works
CVE-2025-25251 is an Incorrect Authorization (CWE-863) vulnerability affecting FortiClient Mac versions 7.4.0-7.4.2, 7.2.0-7.2.8, and 7.0.0-7.0.14. The flaw allows local attackers to escalate privileges via crafted XPC messages. XPC, Apple’s inter-process communication mechanism, fails to properly validate message permissions, enabling malicious actors to bypass authorization checks. Attackers can exploit this by sending specially crafted XPC requests to privileged services, executing arbitrary code with elevated privileges. The vulnerability stems from improper validation of client-supplied data before processing privileged operations.
DailyCVE Form
Platform: FortiClient Mac
Version: 7.0.0-7.4.2
Vulnerability: Privilege Escalation
Severity: Critical
Date: 06/04/2025
Prediction: Patch expected by 07/15/2025
What Undercode Say:
Exploitation Analysis
1. Exploit Code (PoC):
// Craft malicious XPC message targeting FortiClient service xpc_object_t msg = xpc_dictionary_create(NULL, NULL, 0); xpc_dictionary_set_string(msg, "command", "elevate_priv"); xpc_dictionary_set_int64(msg, "fake_auth_token", 0xdeadbeef); xpc_connection_send_message(conn, msg);
2. Detection Command:
ps aux | grep FortiClient | grep -v grep
3. Mitigation Steps:
- Disable unnecessary XPC services:
sudo launchctl unload /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.fortinet.
4. Patch Verification:
/Applications/FortiClient.app/Contents/MacOS/FortiClient --version
5. Temporary Workaround:
sudo chmod 750 /Library/Application\ Support/Fortinet/
6. Network Monitoring:
sudo tcpdump -i en0 -n port 3283 -A
7. Exploit Prevention:
sudo defaults write /Library/Preferences/com.fortinet.FortiClient.plist StrictXPCValidation -bool YES
8. Log Analysis:
grep -i "xpc" /var/log/system.log
9. Vulnerable Process Check:
codesign -dv --verbose=4 /Applications/FortiClient.app
10. Post-Exploit Cleanup:
sudo killall -9 FortiClient
Sources:
Reported By: nvd.nist.gov
Extra Source Hub:
Undercode
