diff --git a/.circleci/install_cmake.sh b/.circleci/install_cmake.sh
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..5f039b102c19
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.circleci/install_cmake.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,67 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+# Usage: ./install_cmake.sh 3.28.3
+# Installs a specific CMake version on macOS from Kitware releases.
+# Layout:
+#   /usr/local/cmake-<version>/CMake.app/Contents/bin/{cmake,ccmake,cpack,ctest}
+# Symlinks:
+#   /usr/local/bin/{cmake,ccmake,cpack,ctest} -> .../Contents/bin/<tool>
+# Works on both Intel and Apple Silicon (uses "macos-universal" tarball).
+
+set -euo pipefail
+
+if [ -z "${1:-}" ]; then
+  echo "Usage: $0 <cmake-version>"
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+VERSION="$1"
+INSTALL_DIR="/usr/local/cmake-$VERSION"
+TARBALL="cmake-$VERSION-macos-universal.tar.gz"
+URL="https://github.com/Kitware/CMake/releases/download/v$VERSION/$TARBALL"
+TMPFILE="/tmp/$TARBALL"
+
+# Require basic tools
+for cmd in curl tar; do
+  command -v "$cmd" >/dev/null || { echo "Missing $cmd"; exit 1; }
+done
+
+# Skip if already installed
+if [ -d "$INSTALL_DIR" ] && [ -x "$INSTALL_DIR/CMake.app/Contents/bin/cmake" ]; then
+  echo "CMake $VERSION already installed at $INSTALL_DIR"
+else
+  echo "Downloading $URL ..."
+  # --fail makes curl exit non-zero on 404/5xx; -L follows redirects
+  curl -fL "$URL" -o "$TMPFILE"
+
+  echo "Creating $INSTALL_DIR and extracting..."
+  sudo mkdir -p "$INSTALL_DIR"
+
+  # The tarball contains a top-level directory (e.g., cmake-<ver>-macos-universal/*)
+  # We strip that first component so CMake.app ends up directly under $INSTALL_DIR.
+  sudo tar -xzf "$TMPFILE" -C "$INSTALL_DIR" --strip-components=1
+
+  # Work around Gatekeeper quarantine if present (harmless if attribute absent)
+  if command -v xattr >/dev/null; then
+    sudo xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine "$INSTALL_DIR/CMake.app" || true
+  fi
+
+  # Sanity check
+  if [ ! -x "$INSTALL_DIR/CMake.app/Contents/bin/cmake" ]; then
+    echo "Error: cmake binary not found under $INSTALL_DIR/CMake.app/Contents/bin"
+    exit 1
+  fi
+fi
+
+echo "Linking command-line tools into /usr/local/bin ..."
+for tool in cmake ccmake cpack ctest; do
+  sudo ln -sfn "$INSTALL_DIR/CMake.app/Contents/bin/$tool" "/usr/local/bin/$tool"
+done
+
+# Optional: link cmake-gui (will open the GUI app)
+if [ -x "$INSTALL_DIR/CMake.app/Contents/bin/cmake-gui" ]; then
+  sudo ln -sfn "$INSTALL_DIR/CMake.app/Contents/bin/cmake-gui" /usr/local/bin/cmake-gui
+fi
+
+echo "CMake $VERSION installed successfully."
+which cmake
+cmake --version
diff --git a/.circleci/osx_install_dependencies.sh b/.circleci/osx_install_dependencies.sh
index 14318c27add5..adfb21915488 100755
--- a/.circleci/osx_install_dependencies.sh
+++ b/.circleci/osx_install_dependencies.sh
@@ -52,12 +52,16 @@ then
   brew untap homebrew/homebrew-cask-versions
   brew update
   brew upgrade
-  brew install cmake
+#  brew install cmake
   brew install wget
   brew install coreutils
   brew install diffutils
   brew install grep
 
+  # install historical cmake
+  chmod +x .circleci/install_cmake.sh
+  .circleci/install_cmake.sh 3.28.3
+
   # boost
   boost_version="1.84.0"
   boost_package="boost_${boost_version//./_}.tar.bz2"
diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index 6901b9138579..18af34d26bf0 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -50,14 +50,6 @@ include_directories(SYSTEM ${JSONCPP_INCLUDE_DIR})
 
 find_package(Threads)
 
-if ("${CMAKE_SYSTEM_NAME}" MATCHES "Darwin" AND "${CMAKE_CXX_COMPILER_ID}" MATCHES "Clang")
-    if (CMAKE_VERSION VERSION_EQUAL "4.0.3" AND CMAKE_CXX_COMPILER_VERSION VERSION_EQUAL "15.0.0.15000040")
-        # for Apple clang 15 under cmake 4.0.0, disable pedantic warnings explicitly as it fails to treat boost properly as
-        # system library, warnings propagate
-        set(PEDANTIC OFF)
-    endif()
-endif()
-
 if(NOT PEDANTIC)
   message(WARNING "-- Pedantic build flags turned off. Warnings will not make compilation fail. This is NOT recommended in development builds.")
 endif()