CVE-2026-28934 in macOS
Summary
by MITRE • 09/14/2026
A buffer overflow was addressed with improved bounds checking. This issue is fixed in macOS Golden Gate 27, macOS Sequoia 15.8, macOS Tahoe 26.7. Mounting a malicious disk image may cause unexpected system termination.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/14/2026
The vulnerability described involves a buffer overflow condition within the macOS operating system's handling of mounted disk images. This type of flaw typically arises when an application or system service writes more data to a fixed-length block of memory than it can hold, causing adjacent memory locations to be overwritten with potentially malicious code or corrupting critical system structures. In this specific instance, the root cause is attributed to insufficient bounds checking during the processing of disk image files. When a user mounts a specially crafted or maliciously constructed disk image, the software fails to properly validate the size and structure of incoming data against the allocated buffer limits. This lack of rigorous input validation allows an attacker to push data beyond the intended memory boundaries, leading to heap corruption or stack overflow scenarios that destabilize the operating system's execution flow.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is primarily characterized by a denial of service condition rather than immediate arbitrary code execution in its current manifestation. The description notes that mounting such a malicious disk image may cause unexpected system termination, which indicates that the buffer overflow triggers a critical failure in the kernel or core system services responsible for managing storage volumes. This results in an abrupt crash of the macOS environment, effectively rendering the device unusable until it is manually restarted by the user. While denial of service is less severe than remote code execution, it poses significant risks to data integrity and availability, particularly if the vulnerability can be triggered automatically through automated mounting processes or social engineering tactics that trick users into opening malicious disk images.
To address this security flaw, Apple has implemented improved bounds checking mechanisms within the affected components in macOS Golden Gate 27, macOS Sequoia 15.8, and macOS Tahoe 26.7. These updates ensure that all data read from or written to buffers associated with disk image mounting operations is strictly validated against predefined limits before processing occurs. This defensive programming practice prevents out-of-bounds writes by rejecting inputs that exceed the allocated memory space, thereby neutralizing the exploitation vector for buffer overflow attacks in this context. Users are strongly advised to update their systems immediately to apply these patches and mitigate the risk of system crashes caused by malicious disk images.
From a classification perspective, this vulnerability aligns with CWE-120, which denotes Buffer Copy without Checking Size of Input Classic Buffer Overflow. The attack vector involves local or physical access if an attacker must physically present the disk image, but it could also be exploited remotely via network-mounted volumes depending on system configuration and user interaction requirements. In terms of tactical mapping to the MITRE ATT&CK framework, this vulnerability relates to T1496 Resource Hijacking under Denial of Service techniques, as well as potentially T1553 Subvert Trust Controls if used in conjunction with other exploits for privilege escalation. However, based on the provided description focusing on system termination, its primary classification remains within denial-of-service vectors stemming from memory safety violations. Organizations should ensure that endpoint protection solutions are updated to detect anomalous behavior associated with disk image mounting and consider restricting auto-mounting features where feasible to reduce the attack surface.