CVE-2025-46290: 
macOS vulnerability analysis and mitigation

CVE-2025-46290 is a denial-of-service vulnerability in the Security component of multiple Apple operating systems, allowing a remote attacker to cause a denial-of-service condition. The flaw stems from a logic issue that was addressed with improved checks. It affects macOS Sonoma prior to 14.8.4, macOS Sequoia prior to 15.7.4, iOS/iPadOS 26.2, macOS Tahoe 26.2, and visionOS 26.2. The vulnerability was disclosed by Apple on February 11, 2026, with patches released across multiple update cycles. It carries a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.5 (High) (Apple Sonoma Advisory, Apple Sequoia Advisory).

The vulnerability is classified under CWE-693 (Protection Mechanism Failure) and CWE-703 (Improper Check or Handling of Exceptional Conditions). It resides in the Security component of Apple's operating systems and is triggered by a logic issue that fails to properly handle certain conditions, enabling a remote attacker to cause a denial-of-service. No user interaction is required for exploitation, and the attack vector is network-based. Apple addressed the issue with improved checks in the affected component (Apple Sonoma Advisory, Apple Sequoia Advisory).

Successful exploitation allows a remote, unauthenticated attacker to cause a denial-of-service condition on affected Apple devices. The primary impact is on availability, with no direct confidentiality or integrity impact reported. Affected platforms include macOS Sonoma, macOS Sequoia, iOS, iPadOS, macOS Tahoe, and visionOS, making the potential scope broad across Apple's ecosystem (Apple Sonoma Advisory, Apple iOS Advisory).

Apple has released patches addressing CVE-2025-46290 across multiple platforms. Users should update to the following versions or later: macOS Sonoma 14.8.4, macOS Sequoia 15.7.4, iOS 26.2, iPadOS 26.2, macOS Tahoe 26.2, and visionOS 26.2. No configuration-based workarounds have been published; upgrading to a patched version is the recommended remediation (Apple Sonoma Advisory, Apple Sequoia Advisory, Apple iOS Advisory).

The vulnerability was credited to Bing Shi, Wenchao Li, and Xiaolong Bai of Alibaba Group, and Luyi Xing of Indiana University Bloomington, indicating academic and industry research collaboration in its discovery. No significant public commentary, media coverage, or notable researcher discussion beyond the standard Apple security advisory process has been identified for this specific CVE (Apple Sonoma Advisory).