CVE-2025-43298: 
macOS vulnerability analysis and mitigation

CVE-2025-43298 is a directory path parsing vulnerability discovered in Apple macOS systems that was disclosed on September 15, 2025. The vulnerability affects multiple versions of macOS including Sequoia 15.7, Sonoma 14.8, and Tahoe 26. The issue exists in the PackageKit component where a parsing issue in the handling of directory paths could allow a malicious application to gain root privileges (Apple Support, NVD).

The vulnerability is classified as CWE-41 (Improper Resolution of Path Equivalence) with a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.8 (HIGH). The attack vector is Local (L), with Low attack complexity (L), requiring Low privileges (L), and No user interaction (UI). The scope is Unchanged (U) with High impact on Confidentiality (H), Integrity (H), and Availability (H) (CISA-ADP).

If successfully exploited, this vulnerability allows a malicious application to elevate its privileges to root level, potentially gaining complete control over the affected system. This could lead to unauthorized access to protected system resources, modification of system files, and full system compromise (Apple Support).

Apple has addressed this vulnerability by improving path validation in the affected versions. Users should update to macOS Sequoia 15.7, macOS Sonoma 14.8, or macOS Tahoe 26 or later versions to mitigate this vulnerability (Apple Support, Apple Support, Apple Support).