Amazon Web Services (AWS) released bulletin AWS-2025-020 detailing a serious flaw in the macOS version of its Client VPN software.
The issue, tracked as CVE-2025-11462, arises when the VPN client fails to validate the log destination directory during log rotation.
| CVE ID | Affected Products | Impact | Exploit Prerequisites | CVSS 3.1 Score |
| CVE-2025-11462 | AWS Client VPN Client for macOS versions 1.3.2–5.2.0 | Local privilege escalation to root on macOS devices | Local non-administrator user access, ability to create symlinks in client log directory | Not disclosed |
An unprivileged user can exploit this weakness by creating a symbolic link from the client’s log file to a sensitive system location, such as the crontab file.
When AWS Client VPN rotates its logs, it writes data to the linked file with root privileges, enabling arbitrary code execution as the root user. This flaw affects only the macOS client; Windows and Linux editions remain unaffected.
Impact and Risk
Successful exploitation grants a local user full root privileges on a macOS device. Threat actors with low initial access could leverage this vulnerability to fully control infected machines, bypass sandbox restrictions, install persistent malware, or access sensitive data.
In cloud-centric environments where AWS Client VPN is widely adopted, compromised endpoints could lead to unauthorized access of on-premises resources or tenant isolation failures.
Given the high potential impact and the ease of triggering the issue through built-in APIs, this flaw has been rated as a critical concern for all macOS users of the service.
AWS has addressed the vulnerability in Client VPN Client version 5.2.1. Administrators and end users should update immediately to this patched release.
For environments that automate software deployments, integrate the update into configuration management and orchestration pipelines without delay.
No workarounds are currently available, so upgrading is the only reliable safeguard against this risk.
Security teams should also review endpoint monitoring logs for unusual local privilege events and consider temporarily restricting macOS user access controls until devices are patched.
Staying current with AWS updates is essential to protect macOS endpoints in cloud-linked environments.
Continuous vigilance and rapid patch deployment remain key defenses against exploitation of this critical vulnerability.
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