Apple has patched a major security flaw in macOS, dubbed “Sploitlight,” that allowed attackers to bypass user privacy settings and extract sensitive data, including files cached by Apple Intelligence.
Discovered by Microsoft’s Threat Intelligence team and tracked as CVE-2025-31199, the vulnerability exploited macOS’s Spotlight plugin system to evade Transparency, Consent, and Control (TCC) protections. TCC is supposed to prevent unauthorized access to user data like location, photos, downloads, and personal content generated by Apple’s AI systems.
Sploitlight took advantage of Spotlight importers, which are small tools that index files for macOS search. Although these plugins normally run in a sandbox and are restricted to the files they’re processing, Microsoft researchers found a way to abuse the indexing process to leak private data. By crafting or modifying a plugin and placing it in a user folder, attackers could scan and log the contents of files stored in TCC-protected locations like the Downloads, Desktop, and Pictures folders. No elevated permissions were needed, and the plugin didn’t have to be signed.
This technique made it possible to siphon off private media metadata, geolocation history, face and person recognition tags, user preferences, and even cached summaries generated by Apple Intelligence. What made the issue worse is iCloud sync. A single compromised Mac could be used to gather linked data from other Apple devices tied to the same iCloud account, including iPhones and iPads. Microsoft emphasized that the implications of this vulnerability were more severe than previous TCC bypasses like “powerdir” or “HM-Surf” because of the sensitive nature of Apple Intelligence data involved.
The good news is that Apple addressed the flaw in the macOS Sequoia 15.4 update, released on March 31, 2025, after being alerted by Microsoft earlier in the year. According to Apple’s security documentation, the Sploitlight vulnerability was fixed through improved data redaction. Alongside this patch, Apple also resolved two other macOS issues discovered by Microsoft by enhancing symlink validation and improving state management.
Although the Sploitlight exploit was not observed in the wild, the potential for abuse was serious. Users are strongly urged to update their systems if they haven’t already. Installing macOS Sequoia 15.4 will prevent attackers from using this technique to scan sensitive files. Additionally, users should avoid installing unfamiliar or unsigned Spotlight plugins and should monitor system activity for suspicious behavior.
