# 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.

- **Severity:** Medium 4.8 (`CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:L/VI:L/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 22 May 2025
- **Updated:** 22 May 2025
- **Also known as:** GHSA-8fcw-v6gr-hp34

## 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 (Incorrect Default Permissions)

## 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.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2025-4280 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: 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.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2025-4280 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Poedit. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-4280/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-4280/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-4280
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-4280
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2025-4280

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-4280/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.