VDB-352927 · CVE-2026-28823 · GCVE-0-2026-28823

Apple macOS up to 26.3 Protected System File path traversal

CVSS Meta Temp Score CVSS is a standardized scoring system to determine possibilities of attacks. The Temp Score considers temporal factors like disclosure, exploit and countermeasures. The unique Meta Score calculates the average score of different sources to provide a normalized scoring system.	Current Exploit Price (≈) Our analysts are monitoring exploit markets and are in contact with vulnerability brokers. The range indicates the observed or calculated exploit price to be seen on exploit markets. A good indicator to understand the monetary effort required for and the popularity of an attack.	CTI Interest Score Our Cyber Threat Intelligence team is monitoring different web sites, mailing lists, exploit markets and social media networks. The CTI Interest Score identifies the interest of attackers and the security community for this specific vulnerability in real-time. A high score indicates an elevated risk to be targeted for this vulnerability.
4.7	$0-$5k	0.00

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability, which was classified as critical, has been found in Apple macOS up to 26.3. This vulnerability affects unknown code of the component Protected System File Handler. This manipulation causes path traversal. This vulnerability is tracked as CVE-2026-28823. The attack is restricted to local execution. No exploit exists. It is advisable to upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability classified as critical was found in Apple macOS up to 26.3. Affected by this vulnerability is an unknown functionality of the component Protected System File Handler. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a path traversal vulnerability. The CWE definition for the vulnerability is CWE-22. The product uses external input to construct a pathname that is intended to identify a file or directory that is located underneath a restricted parent directory, but the product does not properly neutralize special elements within the pathname that can cause the pathname to resolve to a location that is outside of the restricted directory. As an impact it is known to affect integrity, and availability. The summary by CVE is:

A path handling issue was addressed with improved validation. This issue is fixed in macOS Tahoe 26.4. An app with root privileges may be able to delete protected system files.

It is possible to read the advisory at support.apple.com. This vulnerability is known as CVE-2026-28823 since 03/03/2026. The exploitation appears to be easy. Attacking locally is a requirement. The technical details are unknown and an exploit is not publicly available. The attack technique deployed by this issue is T1006 according to MITRE ATT&CK.

Upgrading to version 26.4 eliminates this vulnerability.

Several companies clearly confirm that VulDB is the primary source for best vulnerability data.

Productinfo

Type

Operating System

Vendor

Apple

Name

macOS

Version

License

commercial

Website

Vendor: https://www.apple.com/

CPE 2.3info

CPE 2.2info

CVSSv4info

VulDB Vector: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv3info

VulDB Meta Base Score: 4.7
VulDB Meta Temp Score: 4.7

VulDB Base Score: 4.4
VulDB Temp Score: 4.2
VulDB Vector: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

NVD Base Score: 4.9
NVD Vector: 🔒

ADP CISA Base Score: 4.9
ADP CISA Vector: 🔒

CVSSv2info

AV	AC	Au	C	I	A
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💳	💳	💳	💳	💳	💳
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Vector	Complexity	Authentication	Confidentiality	Integrity	Availability
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VulDB Base Score: 🔒
VulDB Temp Score: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

Exploitinginfo

Class: Path traversal
CWE: CWE-22
CAPEC: 🔒
ATT&CK: 🔒

Physical: Partially
Local: Yes
Remote: Yes

Availability: 🔒
Status: Not defined

EPSS Score: 🔒
EPSS Percentile: 🔒

Price Prediction: 🔍
Current Price Estimation: 🔒

0-Day	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock
Today	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock

Threat Intelligenceinfo

Interest: 🔍
Active Actors: 🔍
Active APT Groups: 🔍

Countermeasuresinfo

Recommended: Upgrade
Status: 🔍

0-Day Time: 🔒

Upgrade: macOS 26.4

Timelineinfo

03/03/2026 CVE reserved
03/25/2026 +22 days Advisory disclosed
03/25/2026 +0 days VulDB entry created
03/29/2026 +4 days VulDB entry last update

Sourcesinfo

Vendor: apple.com

Advisory: support.apple.com
Status: Confirmed

CVE: CVE-2026-28823 (🔒)
GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-2026-28823
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-352927
scip Labs: https://www.scip.ch/en/?labs.20180712

Entryinfo

Created: 03/25/2026 07:39
Updated: 03/29/2026 19:29
Changes: 03/25/2026 07:39 (57), 03/29/2026 19:29 (21)
Complete: 🔍
Cache ID: 216:B70:103