Apple Just Fixed a Nasty iPhone and Mac Zero-Day (CVE-2025-43300) – Here’s What You Should Know

So Apple pushed out another round of security updates this week, and this one is actually important. They patched a zero-day bug (CVE-2025-43300) that was already being used in real attacks. If you are not familiar, “zero-day” basically means the bad guys found and used it before the company had a chance to patch it. In other words, it is the kind of bug that gives hackers a head start.

This specific flaw sits inside something called the ImageIO framework. That is the system iPhones, iPads, and Macs use whenever they need to handle images. Sounds harmless, right? Just opening a picture? Well, here is the thing… if the picture is crafted in a certain way, it can actually corrupt memory and let an attacker run their own code on your device. So imagine someone sends you an image over iMessage or email. You open it, and without realizing, your phone could already be compromised. That is why this update matters.

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What Exactly Got Patched

Apple said the bug was an out-of-bounds write vulnerability. That is security-speak for “the software tried to write data outside the memory space it was supposed to,” which usually means an attacker can sneak in malicious code.

The fix was basically “better bounds checking,” which is a fancy way of saying Apple added guardrails so the system cannot write where it should not. Not super glamorous, but it works.

If you want the specific versions, here they are:

• iOS 18.6.2 and iPadOS 18.6.2 – covers everything from iPhone XS onwards, newer iPads, and so on.

• iPadOS 17.7.10 – for some slightly older iPads like the 12.9-inch 2nd gen, the 10.5-inch Pro, and the iPad 6th gen.

• macOS Ventura 13.7.8

• macOS Sonoma 14.7.8

• macOS Sequoia 15.6.1

So yeah, basically if you have a somewhat recent iPhone, iPad, or Mac, you probably got the patch notification.

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How Serious Is This?

Apple admitted the bug was actually being used in the wild. And not just in random malware campaigns. They described the attacks as extremely sophisticated and targeted. That usually means spyware, surveillance, or nation-state level operations rather than your average scammer.

To be honest, this is not the kind of exploit regular people are likely to get hit with. But here is the catch: once attackers know a bug like this exists, less-skilled groups can sometimes copy it. So while right now it might have been used against journalists, activists, or other “high-value” targets, tomorrow it could trickle down into wider attacks. That is why updating fast is always a smart move.

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Apple’s Growing Zero-Day List

This is not the first time this year Apple had to scramble. CVE-2025-43300 makes it the seventh zero-day patched by Apple in 2025. Earlier, they fixed things like CVE-2025-24085 and CVE-2025-31200 (if you like keeping score). Last month, there was even a Safari-related bug tied to open-source code, which Google spotted being abused in Chrome too.

The bigger picture? Attackers are clearly investing a lot of time in Apple’s ecosystem. iPhones and Macs used to have this aura of being “safer,” but at this point, attackers go where the valuable data is. And Apple devices are full of it.

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What You Should Do Right Now

This part is simple: update your device. Do not wait. Do not think, “I’ll do it this weekend.” Just go into Settings → General → Software Update and get it done. Same goes if you are on a Mac.

If you are someone who handles sensitive work—like journalists, researchers, or if you work in government—then you really cannot afford to ignore this. These targeted zero-days are exactly the kind of thing used for surveillance.

And even if you are just a regular user, there is no harm in staying ahead. The patch is there for a reason.

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Final Thoughts

It is kind of wild how image parsing bugs keep coming up again and again. It sounds so basic—just opening a photo—but attackers love these entry points because images flow through so many apps. Messaging, browsers, email, even random third-party apps all rely on ImageIO behind the scenes. That means one flaw in that framework potentially affects dozens of apps at once.

So yeah, if you take one thing away from this: patch your iPhone, iPad, and Mac as soon as possible. You might never know if this zero-day could have been used against you, but better safe than sorry.