- Microsoft finds macOS security errors that can allow threat actors to pull sensitive data from Apple Intelligence
- “Sproitlight” revolves around the spotlight plugins
- It was fixed in MacOS Sequoia 15.4 so users had to upgrade now
Microsoft has revealed details of a safety vulnerability in macOS that allowed threat actors to steal sensitive information from the Apple Intelligence AI tool.
In a blog post, Microsoft said it found an error bypassing transparency, consent and control mechanisms (TCC) found on macOS devices. TCC is a security and privacy framework that limits access to sensitive user data and system functions.
The error traced as CVE-2025-31199 could give hackers access to files in the downloads folder as well as caches used by Apple Intelligence. Microsoft called the vulnerability “Sploitlight” as it abuses Spotlight Plugins, but says it’s more dangerous than previous TCC flaws such as HM-Surf or Powerdir.
“Serious implications”
“The consequences of this vulnerability are more severe due to its ability to extract and leak sensitive information cacheet of Apple Intelligence, such as precise geolocation data, photo and video metadata, facial and person recognition data, search history and user preferences and more,” Microsoft explained.
“These risks are further complicated and increased by the external connection function between iCloud accounts, which means that an attacker with access to a user’s macOS device can also utilize the vulnerability to determine remote information from other devices linked to the same iCloud account.”
Spotlight -plugins are used to index files for macOS search. Despite these plugins running in a sandbox environment, they still have privileged access to scanned files, which means attackers can change plugin metadata to target specific file types.
By logging file content during indexing can attack Exfilter data without needing TCC permits.
Apple says the error got the error in March 2025 through patches to MacOS Sequoia 15.4. The NVD describes the patch as giving “improved data editor”. Microsoft said the defender of Endpoint is now registering “suspicious” .mdimport installations and unusual indexing of sensitive folders.
Via Bleeping computer
