# CVE-2025-5255: TCC Bypass via Dylib Injection in Phoenix Code

> Local attackers can bypass macOS TCC protections via dylib injection in Phoenix Code due to insecure entitlements, accessing previously granted resources.

- **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:** 20 Jun 2025
- **Updated:** 21 Jan 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-m2wv-p5gg-25gq

## What is CVE-2025-5255?

CVE-2025-5255 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Core.ai Phoenix Code, published on 20 Jun 2025. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

The Phoenix Code's configuration on macOS, specifically the presence of entitlements: "com.apple.security.cs.allow-dyld-environment-variables" and "com.apple.security.cs.disable-library-validation" allows for Dynamic Library (Dylib) injection. A local attacker with unprivileged access can use environment variables like DYLD_INSERT_LIBRARIES to successfully inject code in application's context and bypass Transparency, Consent, and Control (TCC). Acquired resource access is limited to previously granted permissions by the user. Access to other resources beyond granted-permissions requires user interaction with a system prompt asking for permission.

This issue was fixed in commit 0c75fb57f89d0b7d9b180026bc2624b7dcf807da

Weakness: CWE-276 (Incorrect Default Permissions)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2025-5255?


## How do I fix CVE-2025-5255?

No fix has been published for CVE-2025-5255 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2025-5255 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2025-5255 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2025-5255 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2025-5255 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Core.ai Phoenix Code, published on 20 Jun 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-2025-5255 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Core.ai Phoenix Code. 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-2025-5255/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-5255/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-5255
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-5255
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2025-5255

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-5255/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.