Apple Releases Security Patches to Fix Critical Data Exposure Flaws

Apple released critical security updates for macOS Sequoia 15.5 on May 12, 2025, addressing over 40 vulnerabilities across system components ranging from kernel-level memory corruption risks to app sandbox escapes.

The patches target flaws that could allow attackers to access sensitive user data, trigger system crashes, or execute arbitrary code.

Researchers from academic institutions and cybersecurity firms-including MIT CSAIL, Trend Micro Zero Day Initiative, and Google Project Zero-identified the majority of these issues.

Multiple vulnerabilities enabled unauthorized access to sensitive data through macOS’s foundational services.

The TCC framework, which manages app permissions for resources like location and contacts, contained an information disclosure flaw (CVE-2025-31250) that exposed user privacy preferences.

Meanwhile, the CoreGraphics subsystem had an out-of-bounds read vulnerability (CVE-2025-31209) allowing attackers to extract protected graphical data during file parsing.

The Notes app posed risks due to a cache-handling oversight (CVE-2025-31256), which inadvertently revealed deleted notes through the hot corner feature.

Similarly, StoreKit logged unredacted user data (CVE-2025-31242), potentially leaking purchase histories and subscription details.

Apple’s Weather app also contained a location privacy flaw (CVE-2025-31220) that allowed malicious apps to bypass geolocation restrictions.

Researchers highlighted systemic risks in AppleJPEG (CVE-2025-31251) and CoreMedia (CVE-2025-31233), where crafted media files could corrupt process memory and expose user information.

These vulnerabilities underscore the challenges of securing complex multimedia processing pipelines.

System Integrity via Memory Exploits

Kernel-level vulnerabilities dominated high-severity fixes. A double-free flaw in Audio subsystems (CVE-2025-31235) permitted apps to trigger system crashes, while the AFP file-sharing protocol had two critical weaknesses:

CVE-2025-31246 allowed malicious servers to corrupt kernel memory, and CVE-2025-31240 let attackers crash systems via malformed network shares.

The WebKit engine faced seven distinct memory corruption flaws, including CVE-2025-24213, a type confusion vulnerability exploitable through malicious web content.

Google’s V8 team discovered this could bypass Safari’s security checks.

In the Kernel, CVE-2025-31219 enabled attackers to corrupt memory via race conditions, potentially leading to root privileges.

Apple also patched libexpat (CVE-2024-8176), an open-source XML parser, which had third-party-reported risks of arbitrary code execution.

These fixes required rebuilding low-level networking and file-handling components to prevent cascading failures.

Sandbox Escapes and Privacy Bypasses

Apple’s app sandbox-designed to isolate untrusted processes-had multiple containment failures.

The quarantine system (CVE-2025-31244) allowed malicious apps to bypass download restrictions, while RemoteViewServices (CVE-2025-31258) let attackers escape sandboxes entirely by exploiting service IPC mechanisms.

In NetworkExtension, CVE-2025-31218 exposed network connection hostnames, aiding attackers in reconnaissance.

The Sandbox subsystem itself had two flaws: CVE-2025-31249 allowed unauthorized file access, and CVE-2025-31224 let apps bypass privacy preferences by manipulating state checks.

Notably, Mobile Device Service (CVE-2025-24274) had an input validation gap permitting root privilege escalation, and SoftwareUpdate (CVE-2025-31259) allowed local users to gain admin rights via improper sanitization.

Apple’s coordinated patch rollout highlights the escalating complexity of securing modern operating systems against both targeted exploits and opportunistic attacks.

Enterprises and individual users must prioritize immediate updates, as unpatched systems remain vulnerable to data exfiltration and ransomware attacks.

The breadth of fixes-spanning 28 subsystems and involving 47 researchers-reflects macOS’s evolving threat landscape.

Future updates may require deeper integration of machine learning-based anomaly detection to preemptively flag zero-day exploitation patterns.

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