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VulnerabilityPublished Updated

CVE-2026-20631: Apple macOS · A user may be able to elevate privileges

Affects Apple macOSSource CVE Database V5

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Not known to be exploited · CVSS 8.4 High : upgrade to 26.4 soon.

Data as of 30 Oct 2026, 06:59 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score
8.4High
How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.
EPSS
0.3% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 23% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch
Available – fixed in 26.4
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Exploitation evidence

  1. Disclosed: evidence found.

    CVE published 25 Mar 2026

  2. Detectable: no evidence on record.

    No public nuclei template indexed

  3. Weaponized: no evidence on record.

    No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB

  4. Exploited in the wild: no evidence on record.

    Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation

  5. Observed by OffSeq Mirage: no evidence on record.

    No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 29 Oct 2026.

What to do

Upgrade Apple macOS to 26.4.

Affected software

ProductAffectedFixed in
ApplemacOSAffected
  • <26.4
Fixed in
  • 26.4

AI-suggested

  1. Immediately update all macOS systems to version Tahoe 26.4 or later, where the vulnerability is patched.
  2. Restrict local access to macOS systems by enforcing strict access controls and limiting user accounts to those necessary.
  3. Employ endpoint security solutions that monitor for unusual privilege escalation attempts and alert administrators.
  4. Implement application whitelisting and system integrity protection features native to macOS to reduce the risk of unauthorized code execution.
  5. Regularly audit user accounts and permissions to ensure no excessive privileges are granted unnecessarily.
  6. Educate users about the risks of local access and enforce policies to prevent unauthorized physical or remote access.
  7. Monitor system logs for signs of privilege escalation or suspicious activity.
  8. Consider network segmentation to isolate critical macOS systems from less secure environments. These steps go beyond generic patching by focusing on access control, monitoring, and system hardening to reduce the attack surface and detect exploitation attempts early.

Description

A logic issue was addressed with improved checks. This issue is fixed in macOS Tahoe 26.4. A user may be able to elevate privileges.

References

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