CVE-2026-24065: CWE-367 Time-of-check time-of-use (TOCTOU) race condition in Waves Audio Ltd. Waves Central
Waves Central for macOS versions 13.0.9 through 16.5.5 contain a local privilege escalation vulnerability in the privileged helper service. The helper validates connecting XPC clients using the client process identifier (PID) to verify code-signing identity. Because process identifiers can be reused, a local attacker can exploit a race condition between the time a connection request is made and the time the helper performs validation, causing the helper to trust an attacker-controlled process. This allows the attacker to invoke privileged operations, resulting in arbitrary code execution as root. The issue is fixed in version 16.6.2.
AI Analysis
Technical Summary
The vulnerability in Waves Central for macOS arises from a time-of-check time-of-use (TOCTOU) race condition in the privileged helper service. The service attempts to verify connecting XPC clients by checking the client process identifier (PID) to confirm code-signing identity. However, since PIDs can be recycled by the operating system, an attacker can exploit the race condition between the connection request and the validation step to have the helper trust an attacker-controlled process. This flaw enables local attackers to perform privileged operations, leading to arbitrary code execution as root. The issue affects versions from 13.0.9 up to 16.5.5 and is resolved in version 16.6.2.
Potential Impact
Successful exploitation allows a local attacker to escalate privileges to root by executing arbitrary code through the privileged helper service. This compromises the security of the affected system by granting full administrative control to the attacker.
Mitigation Recommendations
Upgrade Waves Central for macOS to version 16.6.2 or later, where this vulnerability is fixed. No other mitigation is specified or required.
CVE-2026-24065: CWE-367 Time-of-check time-of-use (TOCTOU) race condition in Waves Audio Ltd. Waves Central
Description
Waves Central for macOS versions 13.0.9 through 16.5.5 contain a local privilege escalation vulnerability in the privileged helper service. The helper validates connecting XPC clients using the client process identifier (PID) to verify code-signing identity. Because process identifiers can be reused, a local attacker can exploit a race condition between the time a connection request is made and the time the helper performs validation, causing the helper to trust an attacker-controlled process. This allows the attacker to invoke privileged operations, resulting in arbitrary code execution as root. The issue is fixed in version 16.6.2.
CVSS v3.1
Score 8.1high
Weaknesses
AI-Powered Analysis
Machine-generated threat intelligence
Technical Analysis
The vulnerability in Waves Central for macOS arises from a time-of-check time-of-use (TOCTOU) race condition in the privileged helper service. The service attempts to verify connecting XPC clients by checking the client process identifier (PID) to confirm code-signing identity. However, since PIDs can be recycled by the operating system, an attacker can exploit the race condition between the connection request and the validation step to have the helper trust an attacker-controlled process. This flaw enables local attackers to perform privileged operations, leading to arbitrary code execution as root. The issue affects versions from 13.0.9 up to 16.5.5 and is resolved in version 16.6.2.
Potential Impact
Successful exploitation allows a local attacker to escalate privileges to root by executing arbitrary code through the privileged helper service. This compromises the security of the affected system by granting full administrative control to the attacker.
Mitigation Recommendations
Upgrade Waves Central for macOS to version 16.6.2 or later, where this vulnerability is fixed. No other mitigation is specified or required.
Technical Details
- Data Version
- 5.2
- Assigner Short Name
- SEC-VLab
- Date Reserved
- 2026-01-21T11:29:19.853Z
- Cvss Version
- null
- State
- PUBLISHED
- Remediation Level
- null
Threat ID: 6a2830808dd33fbd854ac3d8
Added to database: 6/9/2026, 3:25:52 PM
Last enriched: 6/9/2026, 3:41:37 PM
Last updated: 6/10/2026, 5:09:46 AM
Views: 10
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