CVE-2026-112487 in macOS
Summary
by MITRE • 10/26/2026
A path handling issue was addressed with improved validation. This issue is fixed in macOS Golden Gate 27.2, macOS Sequoia 15.8.2, macOS Tahoe 26.7.2. An app may be able to gain root privileges.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/26/2026
The vulnerability described involves a critical path handling flaw within the operating system's core components, specifically addressed through enhanced input validation mechanisms in recent updates for macOS Golden Gate 27.2, macOS Sequoia 15.8.2, and macOS Tahoe 26.7.2. This issue stems from insufficient sanitization or verification of file paths provided to privileged processes, allowing an attacker to manipulate the intended target of a system operation. By exploiting this weakness, a malicious application can trick elevated services into performing actions on unintended files or directories, effectively bypassing standard access controls and security boundaries that are designed to isolate unprivileged user space from sensitive system resources.
From a technical perspective, this flaw aligns with CWE-22: Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory, commonly known as path traversal. The underlying mechanism likely involves the application or system service accepting unsanitized input for file paths and subsequently using that input in operations such as reading, writing, or executing files without adequately verifying that the resolved absolute path remains within an expected safe directory structure. This lack of strict validation permits relative path sequences like dot-dot-slash to escape the intended sandboxed environment. When combined with privilege escalation vectors, this allows a lower-privileged process to influence high-privilege operations, leading to unauthorized modification or deletion of critical system files and configuration data.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe due to its potential for local privilege escalation. An attacker who successfully exploits this flaw can gain root privileges on the affected macOS device. This level of access grants complete control over the operating system, enabling the installation of persistent malware, exfiltration of sensitive user data such as credentials and personal information, modification of security policies, and further lateral movement within a network if the compromised machine serves as an entry point. The ability to execute arbitrary code with root rights fundamentally breaks the trust model of the macOS architecture, rendering standard endpoint protection measures less effective since they often rely on process isolation that is now circumvented by the attacker's elevated status.
Mitigation strategies primarily involve applying the vendor-provided software updates immediately. Apple has released patches in macOS Golden Gate 27.2, Sequoia 15.8.2, and Tahoe 26.7.2 that implement stricter validation logic to ensure that all file path inputs are canonicalized and checked against allowed directories before being processed by privileged components. Organizations should enforce automated patch management policies to ensure rapid deployment of these updates across all endpoints. Additionally, implementing strict application control policies can limit the execution of untrusted binaries, reducing the attack surface available for exploitation. Security monitoring tools should be configured to detect anomalous file access patterns or unexpected privilege escalation attempts that may indicate an active exploit attempt against this vulnerability before patches are applied.
This incident underscores the importance of rigorous input validation in system-level software development and highlights the risks associated with complex path resolution logic in operating systems. Adherence to secure coding standards, such as those outlined by OWASP for server-side vulnerabilities or general CWE guidelines for memory and file handling errors, is essential to prevent similar issues. Furthermore, adopting a defense-in-depth approach that includes least-privilege principles for applications and robust endpoint detection and response capabilities can significantly reduce the risk of successful exploitation even if new zero-day flaws are discovered in future updates.