CVE-2026-112677 in macOS
Summary
by MITRE • 10/26/2026
An authorization issue was addressed with improved access control. This issue is fixed in macOS Golden Gate 27.2, macOS Sequoia 15.8.2, macOS Tahoe 26.7.2. An application may be able to execute arbitrary code with system privileges.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/27/2026
The disclosed vulnerability represents a critical failure in the operating system's authorization mechanisms, specifically within the access control subsystems of recent Apple macOS releases including versions for Golden Gate, Sequoia, and Tahoe architectures. This flaw allows an application that has been granted limited or standard user-level permissions to escalate its privileges unexpectedly, thereby executing arbitrary code with full system administrative rights. The root cause lies in a logical error where the security boundary between unprivileged processes and privileged system services is not properly enforced during specific authorization checks. When an application interacts with these protected resources, the system fails to validate that the requesting process possesses the necessary elevated credentials before granting access, effectively bypassing the intended sandbox restrictions designed to isolate applications from core system components.
From a technical perspective, this issue aligns closely with CWE-269, which classifies Improper Privilege Management vulnerabilities where an actor is granted privileges they should not have or retains them longer than necessary. The exploitation of this flaw does not require complex binary manipulation or memory corruption techniques typically associated with buffer overflows; instead, it relies on the misuse of legitimate system APIs and authorization services that are incorrectly configured to accept requests from lower-privileged contexts. This simplifies the attack vector significantly, as an attacker only needs a malicious application capable of triggering the specific code path where this validation is skipped. Once triggered, the injected payload executes within the context of the root user or equivalent high-level system account, granting complete control over the operating system environment.
The operational impact of such a vulnerability is severe and comprehensive. An adversary who successfully exploits this authorization bypass can install persistent backdoors, modify critical system files, exfiltrate sensitive data without detection by standard security tools, and disable other protective mechanisms like Gatekeeper or FileVault. Because the execution occurs with system privileges, traditional endpoint protection solutions that rely on user-level monitoring may fail to detect or block the malicious activity effectively. This level of access allows for total compromise of the device's confidentiality, integrity, and availability, potentially leading to broader network infiltration if the compromised machine serves as a pivot point within an enterprise infrastructure.
In terms of threat intelligence frameworks, this vulnerability maps directly to MITRE ATT&CK technique T1068, which covers Exploitation for Privilege Escalation. Specifically, it reflects methods where attackers leverage misconfigurations or logic errors in operating system services rather than exploiting software bugs in third-party applications. The ability to execute arbitrary code with elevated privileges also facilitates subsequent tactics such as T1543, Creation of a System Service, allowing the attacker to establish persistence that survives reboots and resists removal by standard user accounts. This makes remediation difficult if the vulnerability remains unpatched for extended periods in production environments.
Mitigation strategies must prioritize immediate patching through official Apple update channels to ensure all affected macOS versions are updated to their respective secure releases, specifically macOS Golden Gate 27.2, Sequoia 15.8.2, and Tahoe 26.7.2. Organizations should enforce strict application whitelisting policies using tools like File Quarantine or third-party endpoint detection and response solutions that monitor for unauthorized privilege escalation attempts. Additionally, implementing least-privilege principles across all user accounts ensures that even if an application is compromised, the potential blast radius of a successful exploit remains contained within limited permissions rather than escalating to system-wide control. Regular auditing of access control lists and monitoring logs for anomalous authorization requests can further enhance detection capabilities while patches are being deployed.