VulnerabilityPublished 11 May 2026

CVE-2026-39871: Apple macOS · Exposed Files or Directories

Affects Apple macOSSource CVE Database V5

Compare

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 7.5 High · fixed in 26.5 : patch Apple macOS soon.

Data as of 30 Oct 2026, 06:59 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

7.5High

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 26.5, 15.7.7, 14.8.7

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

Attack Vector: Network
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: None
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality: High
Integrity: None
Availability: None

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Network: The vulnerable component is bound to the network stack and the set of possible attackers extends beyond the other options listed, up to and including the entire Internet. Such a vulnerability is often termed 'remotely exploitable' and can be thought of as an attack being exploitable at the protocol level one or more network hops away (e.g., across one or more routers).
Attack Complexity: Low: Specialized access conditions or extenuating circumstances do not exist. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable component.
Privileges Required: None: The attacker is unauthorized prior to attack, and therefore does not require any access to settings or files to carry out an attack.
User Interaction: None: The vulnerable system can be exploited without any interaction from any user.
Scope: Unchanged: An exploited vulnerability can only affect resources managed by the same security authority. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are either the same, or both are managed by the same security authority.
Confidentiality: High: There is total loss of confidentiality, resulting in all resources within the impacted component being divulged to the attacker. Alternatively, access to only some restricted information is obtained, but the disclosed information presents a direct, serious impact.
Integrity: None: There is no loss of integrity within the impacted component.
Availability: None: There is no impact to availability within the impacted component.

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 11 May 2026
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponized: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by 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.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponized: A Metasploit exploit module or Exploit-DB entry exists (Metasploit scanner modules do not count), or CISA SSVC or the CVSS exploit maturity reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Upgrade Apple macOS to 26.5, 15.7.7 or 14.8.7.

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
ApplemacOS	Affected <26.5	Fixed in 26.5
ApplemacOS	Affected <15.7.7	Fixed in 15.7.7
ApplemacOS	Affected <14.8.7	Fixed in 14.8.7

AI-suggested

A fix is available in macOS Sequoia 15.7.7, macOS Sonoma 14.8.7, and macOS Tahoe 26.5. Users and administrators should update affected macOS installations to these versions or later to remediate the vulnerability. Since this is not a cloud service, remediation depends on applying these official patches.

Description

CVE-2026-39871 is a high-severity vulnerability in Apple macOS where an application may be able to observe unprotected user data due to a path handling issue. This issue has been addressed with improved logic in macOS Sequoia 15.7.7, macOS Sonoma 14.8.7, and macOS Tahoe 26.5. The vulnerability does not affect cloud services and there are no known exploits in the wild at this time.

Impact

An attacker could exploit this vulnerability to observe sensitive user data that should be protected, potentially leading to unauthorized data disclosure. The vulnerability does not affect system integrity or availability. There are no known exploits in the wild currently.

Summary

This vulnerability involves a path handling flaw in Apple macOS that could allow an application to access unprotected user data. The issue is classified under CWE-552 (Files or Directories Accessible to External Parties). Apple has fixed the problem by improving the path handling logic in specific macOS versions: Sequoia 15.7.7, Sonoma 14.8.7, and Tahoe 26.5. The CVSS v3.1 base score is 7.5, indicating a high severity with network attack vector, low attack complexity, no privileges or user interaction required, and impacts confidentiality but not integrity or availability.

CWE-552Files or Directories Accessible to External Parties (opens in a new tab)
Base weaknessOWASP Top 10 A01:2025: Broken Access Control (opens in a new tab)
The product makes files or directories accessible to unauthorized actors, even though they should not be.
Implementation · System Configuration · Operation
When storing data in the cloud (e.g., S3 buckets, Azure blobs, Google Cloud Storage, etc.), use the provider's controls to disable public access.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
Authorization (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V12.5.1 (opens in a new tab)
V12.4.1 (opens in a new tab)
V8.3.8 (opens in a new tab)
Attack patterns
Collect Data from Common Resource Locations (opens in a new tab)
Probe System Files (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

Community reviews

Loading reviews…

Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 19 May 2026, 11:03 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-552

Technical details

References

Community reviews

Related threats