CVE-2026-28926 in macOS
Summary
by MITRE • 07/28/2026
A race condition was addressed with improved state handling. This issue is fixed in macOS Sequoia 15.7.8, macOS Sonoma 14.8.8. An app may be able to elevate privileges.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/28/2026
This vulnerability represents a race condition that emerged from insufficient state management within the operating system's privilege escalation mechanisms. The flaw allowed malicious applications to exploit timing inconsistencies in the system's privilege handling processes, potentially enabling unauthorized elevation of privileges from standard user accounts to administrative levels. The issue was particularly concerning as it could be leveraged by attacker-controlled software to bypass security boundaries that normally protect system integrity and user data confidentiality.
The technical nature of this vulnerability aligns with common race condition patterns documented in the CWE database under category 362, which describes "Concurrent Execution using Shared Resource with Improper Synchronization." The flaw manifested when multiple threads or processes attempted to access shared system resources without proper synchronization mechanisms, creating temporal windows where inconsistent states could be exploited. This particular implementation appeared to involve improper state transitions during privilege checking operations, where the system failed to maintain consistent security contexts throughout the execution lifecycle.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability posed significant risks to macOS environments as it could be exploited by seemingly benign applications to gain elevated privileges without user consent or awareness. The attack surface was particularly broad since any application with execution privileges could potentially leverage this weakness, making it a critical concern for enterprise security teams managing macOS deployments. The privilege escalation capability meant that attackers could access protected system resources, modify critical files, install malicious software, and potentially establish persistent access to affected systems.
The fix implemented by Apple addressed the root cause through enhanced state management protocols that ensure proper synchronization during privilege checking operations. This remediation involved strengthening the atomicity of security context transitions and implementing more robust mutex mechanisms to prevent concurrent access violations. The update was rolled out as part of macOS Sequoia 15.7.8 and macOS Sonoma 14.8.8 releases, requiring system administrators to apply these patches promptly to maintain security posture. Organizations should prioritize deployment of these updates across their macOS fleets, particularly in environments where security isolation is critical.
Security professionals should consider this vulnerability when assessing risk within their macOS environments and align the remediation efforts with established frameworks such as the ATT&CK matrix's privilege escalation techniques. The vulnerability demonstrates how seemingly minor state management issues can lead to significant security implications, emphasizing the importance of comprehensive security testing including concurrency and race condition analysis during software development lifecycle processes.