CVE-2025-4280 TCC Bypass via Inherited Permissions in Bundled Interpreter in Poedit.app
Local attackers can bypass macOS TCC privacy controls via a bundled Python interpreter to access protected files without user prompts.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Any signed-in user
- Attackable
- Local or same network only
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- None listed
What is CVE-2025-4280?
CVE-2025-4280 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Poedit, published on 22 May 2025. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Official description
MacOS version of Poedit bundles a Python interpreter that inherits the Transparency, Consent, and Control (TCC) permissions granted by the user to the main application bundle. An attacker with local user access can invoke this interpreter with arbitrary commands or scripts, leveraging the application's previously granted TCC permissions to access user's files in privacy-protected folders without triggering user prompts. Accessing other resources beyond previously granted TCC permissions will prompt the user for approval in the name of Poedit, potentially disguising attacker's malicious intent.
This issue has been fixed in 3.6.3 version of Poedit.
Weakness: CWE-276
Which versions are affected by CVE-2025-4280?
How do I fix CVE-2025-4280?
No fix has been published for CVE-2025-4280 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.
Is CVE-2025-4280 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2025-4280 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Sources
Also known as GHSA-8fcw-v6gr-hp34.