CVE-2025-43464
📋 TL;DR
This CVE describes a denial-of-service vulnerability in macOS where visiting a malicious website could cause application crashes. The issue was caused by improper input validation and affects macOS users who browse untrusted websites. Apple has addressed this with improved input validation in macOS Tahoe 26.1.
💻 Affected Systems
- macOS
📦 What is this software?
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 →⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Complete system instability requiring reboot, with potential data loss in unsaved applications.
Likely Case
Individual application crashes when visiting malicious websites, requiring application restart.
If Mitigated
No impact if patched or if users avoid untrusted websites.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires user to visit malicious website, no authentication needed.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: macOS Tahoe 26.1
Vendor Advisory: https://support.apple.com/en-us/125634
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Open System Settings 2. Click General 3. Click Software Update 4. Install macOS Tahoe 26.1 update 5. Restart when prompted
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Browser Restrictions
allRestrict browsing to trusted websites only
JavaScript Disable
allDisable JavaScript in browsers to reduce attack surface
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement web filtering to block known malicious websites
- Use browser extensions that block suspicious content and scripts
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check macOS version in System Settings > General > About. If version is earlier than Tahoe 26.1, system is vulnerable.Check Version:
sw_versVerify Fix Applied:
Verify macOS version is Tahoe 26.1 or later in System Settings > General > About.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Application crash logs, particularly from web browsers
- Unexpected application termination events
Network Indicators:
- Connections to suspicious domains followed by application crashes
SIEM Query:
source="macos" AND (event="application_crash" OR event="process_termination") AND process_name IN ("Safari", "Chrome", "Firefox")