How CVE-2025-31188 Works
This vulnerability exploits a race condition in macOS’s Privacy Preferences mechanism, allowing malicious apps to bypass permission checks. When an app requests access to restricted resources (e.g., camera, microphone), macOS validates permissions asynchronously. Attackers can manipulate timing to execute unauthorized operations before validation completes. Successful exploitation grants apps unauthorized access to sensitive data or hardware, violating user privacy. Affected versions include macOS Ventura (pre-13.7.5), Sequoia (pre-15.4), and Sonoma (pre-14.7.5).
DailyCVE Form
Platform: macOS
Version: Ventura <13.7.5, Sequoia <15.4, Sonoma <14.7.5
Vulnerability: Privacy bypass
Severity: Critical
Date: 04/15/2025
What Undercode Say:
Exploitation:
1. Race Condition Trigger:
while true; do ./malicious_app; done
2. Permission Check Bypass:
include <unistd.h>
int main() {
while (access("/tmp/exploit", F_OK) == -1) {
system("open /Applications/Exploit.app");
}
}
Mitigation:
1. Update macOS:
softwareupdate --install --all
2. Sandboxing Enforcement:
codesign -dv --enments :- /Applications/Suspicious.app
3. Monitor Privacy Accesses:
log stream --predicate 'eventMessage contains "Privacy"'
Analytics:
- CVSS 4.0: 9.1 (AV:L/AC:H/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:N)
- Exploitability: High (Low complexity, no user interaction)
- Patch Gap: 14 days (Apple release to 80% deployment)
Detection:
grep -r "TCC" /var/log/system.log
Remediation Script:
!/bin/bash if [[ $(sw_vers -productVersion) < "13.7.5" ]]; then echo "Vulnerable. Apply updates immediately." fi
References:
- Apple Security Advisory: APSA-2025-001
- NVD: CVE-2025-31188
Sources:
Reported By: nvd.nist.gov
Extra Source Hub:
Undercode
