CVE-2026-112548 in macOS
Summary
by MITRE • 10/26/2026
A use after free issue was addressed with improved memory management. 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 • 10/27/2026
The disclosed vulnerability represents a critical use-after-free memory corruption flaw within the operating system's core components, specifically addressed through enhanced memory management protocols in recent updates for macOS Golden Gate 27.2, macOS Sequoia 15.8.2, and macOS Tahoe 26.7.2. A use-after-free condition occurs when a program continues to use a pointer after the memory it points to has been freed or deallocated. In this context, the operating system likely failed to properly invalidate references to an object once its underlying memory was released back to the heap allocator. This creates a window of opportunity where malicious code can interact with dangling pointers that may now reference newly allocated data structures controlled by an attacker rather than the original intended kernel or system service objects.
From a technical perspective, this flaw aligns closely with CWE-416, which defines use after free as a type of memory corruption vulnerability. The operational impact is severe because macOS systems rely heavily on strict privilege separation and sandboxing to maintain security boundaries between user applications and privileged system processes. By exploiting the race condition inherent in use-after-free scenarios, an attacker can manipulate the contents of the freed memory region before it is reallocated for a different purpose. If the application subsequently dereferences this pointer, it may interpret attacker-controlled data as legitimate kernel or root-level structures. This misinterpretation allows the malicious code to execute arbitrary instructions within the context of the highest privilege level available on the system, effectively bypassing standard security controls such as System Integrity Protection and sandbox restrictions.
The ability for an unprivileged application to gain root privileges constitutes a significant escalation of privilege vulnerability, mapping directly to MITRE ATT&CK technique T1068 Exploitation for Privilege Escalation. This specific vector allows local attackers to transition from low-privilege user contexts to full administrative control over the device without requiring physical access or additional social engineering efforts beyond initial code execution. The consequences of such a compromise are extensive, including the ability to install persistent malware, exfiltrate sensitive data, modify system configurations, and disable security features like Gatekeeper or FileVault. Given that this issue affects multiple major macOS releases across different version branches, it indicates a systemic weakness in how certain memory management operations were historically handled within these specific build environments.
Mitigation requires immediate deployment of the provided software updates to ensure that the improved memory management logic is active on all affected devices. Security administrators should prioritize patching strategies for endpoints running macOS Golden Gate 27.2, Sequoia 15.8.2, or Tahoe 26.7.2 and earlier vulnerable versions. Additionally, organizations should enforce strict application whitelisting policies to prevent unauthorized software from executing on workstations, thereby reducing the attack surface available for triggering this vulnerability. Continuous monitoring of system logs for anomalous privilege escalation events can also help detect potential exploitation attempts in real-time while patching efforts are underway across the enterprise infrastructure.