Local system termination via Audio double free
Published May 12, 2025 · Updated Apr 2, 2026
Double free in the Audio component of macOS and iPadOS allows local users to cause unexpected system termination through an app. The component releases the same memory allocation twice, but Apple has not disclosed the affected function or app-controlled operation that triggers the second release. The app must execute locally; the documented consequence is system termination, with no reported data disclosure or modification.
Summary
What happened
Double free in the Audio component of macOS and iPadOS allows local users to cause unexpected system termination through an app. The component releases the same memory allocation twice, but Apple has not disclosed the affected function or app-controlled operation that triggers the second release. The app must execute locally; the documented consequence is system termination, with no reported data disclosure or modification.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2025-31235
- Published
- May 12, 2025
- Updated
- Apr 2, 2026
- Vendor
- Apple
- Product
- macOS
- Classifications
- CWE-415, T1499
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- May 12, 2025CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Apr 2, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
Compare your product and version with the public record. A matching version still requires validation against your environment.
Is a vulnerable build present?
Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.
- Affected versionversion=0 <13.7.6
- Affected versionversion=0 <14.7.6
- Affected versionversion=0 <15.5
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.
Attacks
What attackers are doing with it
Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.
Public exploit references
No public exploit references are available in this record.
Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.
Technologies
Your stack
See the directory against your own environment.
Your stack
Check the software in your environment
Book a demo to see how Hinoki identifies affected software and validates exploitability in your environment.
Book a demo