Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2025-31226 is an Apple image-processing denial-of-service issue. A maliciously crafted image can cause an affected Apple device or application component to stop responding or crash. Apple says the issue is fixed in current 2025 platform updates. Business risk is disruption, not data theft, based on the published description.
Executive priority
Treat as a normal-priority Apple patching item. Prioritize broadly deployed user devices and shared or business-critical Apple systems. The issue can interrupt availability, but public sources provided do not indicate data compromise or active exploitation.
Technical view
Apple describes this as a logic issue addressed with improved checks. The CVSS vector is local, low complexity, no privileges required, user interaction required, with high availability impact and no confidentiality or integrity impact. It maps to CWE-400, uncontrolled resource consumption. Fixed releases include iOS/iPadOS 18.5, iPadOS 17.7.7, macOS Sequoia 15.5, tvOS 18.5, visionOS 2.5, and watchOS 11.5.
Likely exposure
Organizations with Apple endpoints, mobile devices, Apple TV, Vision Pro, or Apple Watch below the listed fixed versions may be exposed when users process malicious images. Exposure depends on where affected image handling is reachable in deployed Apple software.
Exploitation context
The source bundle does not show CISA KEV listing or confirmed active exploitation. Exploitation requires user interaction with a maliciously crafted image and results in denial-of-service, according to Apple and the CVSS data.
Researcher notes
Public detail is limited. Apple identifies the root cause only as a logic issue with improved checks and does not name a specific component in the supplied text. Avoid assuming code paths or exploitability beyond malicious image processing and denial-of-service.
Mitigation direction
- Update iOS and iPadOS devices to 18.5 or later where supported.
- Update eligible iPads on the older branch to iPadOS 17.7.7 or later.
- Update Macs to macOS Sequoia 15.5 or later.
- Update tvOS, visionOS, and watchOS to the listed fixed releases.
- Check Apple support pages for any platform-specific deployment guidance.
Validation and detection
- Inventory Apple assets and record current OS versions.
- Compare versions against Apple’s fixed release list for CVE-2025-31226.
- Confirm managed devices report successful installation of applicable updates.
- Review helpdesk or telemetry for recurring image-related crashes before and after updates.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CWE-400: Exact CWE lookup
Use the exact CWE identifier as the starting point before reviewing related ATT&CK behavior. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2025-31226 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- Medium
- CVSS
- 5.5 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5
These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.
SSVC decision data
CVSS vector scores
1 official scoreWe collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H1.83.6CISA-ADPVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
5.5MediumVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Vulnerability timeline
Timeline events are normalized from CVE metadata, CNA source timelines, ADP timelines, and KEV metadata when present.
- CVE reservedCVE Program
The CVE ID was reserved by the assigning CNA.
- CVE publishedCVE Program
The CVE record was published.
- CVE updatedCVE Program
The CVE record metadata indicates this as the latest update time.
ADP provider summaries
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://support.apple.com/en-us/122404CVE reference, apple
- https://support.apple.com/en-us/122405CVE reference, apple
- https://support.apple.com/en-us/122716CVE reference, apple
- https://support.apple.com/en-us/122720CVE reference, apple
- https://support.apple.com/en-us/122721CVE reference, apple
- https://support.apple.com/en-us/122722CVE reference, apple
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.
Uncontrolled Resource Consumption
Uncontrolled Resource Consumption represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.