CVE-2025-31184
📋 TL;DR
This vulnerability allows malicious applications to bypass permission checks and gain unauthorized access to the local network on Apple devices. It affects Safari browsers and Apple operating systems before specific patch versions. Users running outdated Apple software are vulnerable to local network reconnaissance and potential lateral movement.
💻 Affected Systems
- Safari
- visionOS
- iOS
- iPadOS
- macOS Sequoia
📦 What is this software?
Ipados by Apple
Macos by Apple
macOS is Apple's desktop and laptop operating system powering Mac computers used by millions of professionals, developers, creative professionals, and enterprise users worldwide. Built on a Unix foundation with the Darwin kernel and modern Cocoa frameworks, macOS delivers a seamless ecosystem integr...
Learn more about Macos →Safari by Apple
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
An attacker could map the local network, discover other devices, and potentially exploit vulnerabilities on those devices to move laterally within the network environment.
Likely Case
Malicious apps could gather information about other devices on the local network, potentially identifying targets for further attacks or exfiltrating network topology data.
If Mitigated
With proper network segmentation and application sandboxing, the impact would be limited to reconnaissance of the immediate network segment only.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires a malicious application to be installed on the target device, which then bypasses permission checks to access local network resources.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Safari 18.4, visionOS 2.4, iOS 18.4, iPadOS 18.4, macOS Sequoia 15.4
Vendor Advisory: https://support.apple.com/en-us/122371
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Open System Settings/Preferences 2. Navigate to Software Update 3. Install all available updates 4. For Safari specifically, ensure browser updates are applied through the App Store or system updates
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Restrict Local Network Access
allConfigure firewall rules to restrict local network access for untrusted applications and implement network segmentation to limit lateral movement.
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement strict application allowlisting to prevent installation of untrusted applications
- Deploy network segmentation to isolate vulnerable devices from critical network resources
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check the current version of Safari and operating system against the patched versions listed in the affected systems section.Check Version:
For Safari: Safari menu > About Safari. For macOS: System Settings > General > About. For iOS/iPadOS: Settings > General > About.Verify Fix Applied:
Verify that Safari version is 18.4 or higher, and operating system versions match or exceed the patched versions specified.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual local network scanning activity from applications
- Permission bypass attempts in system logs
Network Indicators:
- Unexpected ARP or mDNS queries from devices
- Unusual local network traffic patterns from single hosts
SIEM Query:
source="apple_system_logs" AND (event_description="local_network_access" OR event_description="permission_bypass")🔗 References
- https://support.apple.com/en-us/122371
- https://support.apple.com/en-us/122373
- https://support.apple.com/en-us/122378
- https://support.apple.com/en-us/122379
- http://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2025/Apr/12
- http://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2025/Apr/2
- http://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2025/Apr/4
- http://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2025/Apr/8
