A critical vulnerability identified as CVE-2025-31219 has been disclosed in Apple’s XNU kernel, posing a high-severity risk across a wide array of Apple operating systems, including macOS, iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, tvOS, visionOS, and more.

Discovered by researchers, highlighting its serious implications. Publicly disclosed on May 21, 2025, the vulnerability stems from a race condition within the kernel's vm_map memory management subsystem, where improper locking mechanisms during virtual memory allocations can lead to memory corruption and potential kernel-level code execution.

This race condition vulnerability allows attackers with low-privileged code execution capabilities to escalate privileges and gain kernel-level access, effectively taking full control of the affected system. The vulnerability’s CVSS vector string (AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A: H) reflects that it requires only local access and minimal attacker privileges to exploit, while having a high impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The “Changed” scope signifies that the exploit can transcend its original security context, which is typical of kernel-level flaws. Similar issues have historically plagued Apple’s kernel, notably previous vm_map_copy race conditions, indicating a persistent challenge in securing memory management within XNU.

Apple has acknowledged the issue and swiftly released security patches across its ecosystem. Systems impacted include macOS Sonoma 14.7.6, macOS Sequoia 15.5, macOS Ventura 13.7.6, iOS 18.5, iPadOS 17.7.7, watchOS 11.5, tvOS 18.5, and visionOS 2.5. These updates include improved memory handling mechanisms to mitigate the vulnerability. Apple’s advisory urges all users and organizations to immediately update affected devices, especially in environments where attackers might already have low-privileged code execution capabilities through other vulnerabilities or social engineering.

While there is currently no evidence of active exploitation in the wild, the severity and breadth of affected systems warrant urgent attention. Given the nature of the vulnerability, it is likely to be used in multi-stage attack chains where privilege escalation is required after initial access. Organizations should prioritize patching and consider enhanced monitoring of endpoint behaviors to detect possible exploitation attempts. Prompt updates are critical, as delaying patches may leave systems vulnerable to exploitation in future threat campaigns targeting Apple’s kernel infrastructure.