CVE-2025-1413: DaVinci Resolve Privilege Escalation Flaw

CVE-2025-1413 Overview

CVE-2025-1413 affects Blackmagic Design DaVinci Resolve on macOS versions before 19.1.3. The installer sets application files with world-writable permissions (rwxrwxrwx) instead of the standard macOS drwxr-xr-x. Any local user, including guest accounts and unprivileged applications, can modify files within the DaVinci Resolve installation directory. This condition enables dynamic library (Dylib) hijacking, where an attacker replaces a legitimate .dylib with a malicious one that executes when a higher-privileged user launches the application. The result is local privilege escalation on shared macOS systems. The weakness maps to [CWE-732: Incorrect Permission Assignment for Critical Resource].

Critical Impact
A local low-privileged user can replace application binaries or libraries to execute arbitrary code in the context of any user who runs DaVinci Resolve, leading to privilege escalation and full compromise of that user session.

Affected Products

Blackmagic Design DaVinci Resolve on macOS versions prior to 19.1.3
macOS multi-user systems where DaVinci Resolve is installed
Systems with guest accounts enabled and DaVinci Resolve deployed

Discovery Timeline

2025-02-28 - CVE-2025-1413 published to NVD
2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-1413

Vulnerability Analysis

The DaVinci Resolve installer on macOS assigns rwxrwxrwx (octal 0777) permissions to installed application files and directories. macOS convention requires application bundles under /Applications to be owned by root:wheel with drwxr-xr-x (0755) permissions, restricting write access to the root user. When files inside the DaVinci Resolve.app bundle remain world-writable, any local principal can overwrite executables, frameworks, and dynamic libraries loaded at runtime.

When a privileged user launches DaVinci Resolve, the dynamic linker (dyld) resolves and loads .dylib files from the bundle. An attacker who has replaced one of these libraries achieves code execution under the privileges of the launching user. On systems where administrators or other standard users run the application, the attacker effectively escalates from a guest or low-privilege account into their session.

Root Cause

The root cause is an incorrect permission assignment applied by the installer. The application bundle should be owned by root:wheel with restrictive permissions, but instead exposes write access to all local users. This violates the macOS security model for shared installation locations.

Attack Vector

Exploitation requires local access with any user account, including the guest account. The attacker enumerates writable files within the DaVinci Resolve bundle, replaces a dynamic library referenced by the application binary, and waits for a higher-privileged user to launch DaVinci Resolve. On execution, dyld loads the malicious dylib and runs attacker-controlled code in the target user's security context. No user interaction beyond normal application launch is required. Full technical details are available in the CERT Poland CVE-2025-1413 Advisory.

No verified public exploit code is available. The vulnerability mechanism is described in prose based on the CERT Poland advisory. See the Apple App Store Listing for the affected product.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-1413

Indicators of Compromise

Files inside /Applications/DaVinci Resolve.app with rwxrwxrwx permissions or non-root:wheel ownership
Unexpected or unsigned .dylib files within the DaVinci Resolve application bundle
Recently modified files inside the bundle that do not match the vendor's release manifest
dyld load events referencing dylibs from writable paths under the application bundle

Detection Strategies

Audit filesystem permissions on /Applications/DaVinci Resolve.app using ls -laR or stat and flag any entries deviating from 0755 and root:wheel
Validate code signatures on all binaries and libraries within the bundle using codesign --verify --deep --strict
Monitor process execution telemetry for DaVinci Resolve loading dynamic libraries from unexpected paths
Correlate low-privilege user file writes into /Applications/ with subsequent process launches by other users

Monitoring Recommendations

Enable macOS Unified Logging for dyld events and forward to a centralized log platform
Alert on any write operation to files under /Applications/DaVinci Resolve.app/ by non-administrative users
Track new or modified .dylib files across managed macOS endpoints with file integrity monitoring
Review guest account usage on any system where DaVinci Resolve is installed

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-1413

Immediate Actions Required

Upgrade DaVinci Resolve to version 19.1.3 or later on all macOS systems
Manually correct permissions on existing installations to 0755 with root:wheel ownership until the upgrade is applied
Disable the macOS guest account on systems that host DaVinci Resolve
Inventory all macOS endpoints running DaVinci Resolve and prioritize multi-user and shared workstations

Patch Information

Blackmagic Design addressed the incorrect permission assignment in DaVinci Resolve 19.1.3. Installing this version corrects the permissions applied during setup. Refer to the CERT Poland CVE-2025-1413 Advisory for coordinated disclosure details and the Apple App Store Listing for the current release.

Workarounds

Run sudo chown -R root:wheel "/Applications/DaVinci Resolve.app" followed by sudo chmod -R 755 "/Applications/DaVinci Resolve.app" to restore correct ownership and permissions
Restrict interactive logon on affected hosts to trusted users only and disable the guest account
Enforce application allowlisting so unsigned or modified dylibs cannot load under the DaVinci Resolve process
Remove DaVinci Resolve from shared or kiosk-style macOS systems until patched

bash

# Configuration example
sudo chown -R root:wheel "/Applications/DaVinci Resolve.app"
sudo chmod -R 755 "/Applications/DaVinci Resolve.app"
codesign --verify --deep --strict "/Applications/DaVinci Resolve.app"