CVE-2025-31194: Critical Vulnerability in Apple macOS
A critical vulnerability has been discovered in Apple’s macOS operating system, tracked as CVE-2025-31194. This flaw allows an app’s shortcut to run with admin privileges without proper authentication, posing a significant security risk. The issue affects versions of macOS prior to 15.4 and has been addressed in macOS Ventura 13.7.5, macOS Sequoia 15.4, and macOS Sonoma 14.7.5.
Details of the Vulnerability
This vulnerability arises from an authentication issue in macOS that allows shortcuts to bypass necessary permission checks. An attacker could exploit this flaw to elevate the privileges of a shortcut, enabling it to perform actions that should require admin authentication. Such unauthorized privilege escalation can lead to unauthorized access to system resources, potentially compromising the integrity and security of the system.
Apple has resolved this issue by implementing improved state management and authentication checks. With these enhancements, only properly authenticated shortcuts will be able to access administrative privileges, significantly reducing the risk of exploitation.
CVSS Score and Impact
The CVSS v3.1 score for CVE-2025-31194 is 9.8, indicating a critical vulnerability. The key details of the CVSS score are as follows:
- Attack Vector (AV): Network – The vulnerability can be exploited remotely.
- Attack Complexity (AC): Low – The exploit does not require complex conditions to execute.
- Privileges Required (PR): None – No special privileges are needed to exploit the vulnerability.
- User Interaction (UI): None – The exploit can occur without user interaction.
- Confidentiality Impact (C): High – Sensitive user data could be accessed by the attacker.
- Integrity Impact (I): High – The attacker can alter system data.
- Availability Impact (A): High – The attacker can cause system disruptions.
Mitigation
Apple has addressed the issue by adding additional restrictions and improving shortcut permission validation. Users are strongly encouraged to update to the latest versions of macOS, including macOS Ventura 13.7.5, macOS Sequoia 15.4, or macOS Sonoma 14.7.5, to protect against this critical vulnerability.
Conclusion
The CVE-2025-31194 vulnerability underscores the importance of robust authentication and access control mechanisms in macOS systems. Users of affected Apple devices should apply the latest security updates immediately to mitigate the risk of exploitation and safeguard sensitive information from unauthorized access.