CVE-2026-39874: A malicious app may be able to gain root privileges in Apple macOS
A permissions issue was addressed with additional restrictions. This issue is fixed in macOS Sequoia 15.7.8, macOS Sonoma 14.8.8, macOS Tahoe 26.6. A malicious app may be able to gain root privileges.
AI Analysis
Technical Summary
This vulnerability involves a permissions issue in macOS that could be exploited by a malicious app to escalate privileges to root. Apple fixed the issue by implementing additional restrictions in specific macOS versions: Sequoia 15.7.8, Sonoma 14.8.8, and Tahoe 26.6. The CVSS score is 7.8, indicating a high severity with local attack vector, low attack complexity, requiring low privileges but no user interaction, and impacts confidentiality, integrity, and availability.
Potential Impact
A successful exploit allows a malicious application to gain root privileges on the affected macOS system, potentially leading to full system compromise including unauthorized access, modification, or disruption of system resources.
Mitigation Recommendations
Apply the official patches by upgrading to macOS Sequoia 15.7.8, macOS Sonoma 14.8.8, or macOS Tahoe 26.6 where this vulnerability is fixed. No other mitigation or temporary workaround is indicated in the available data.
CVE-2026-39874: A malicious app may be able to gain root privileges in Apple macOS
Description
A permissions issue was addressed with additional restrictions. This issue is fixed in macOS Sequoia 15.7.8, macOS Sonoma 14.8.8, macOS Tahoe 26.6. A malicious app may be able to gain root privileges.
CVSS v3.1
Score 7.8high
Affected software
Apple
macOS
Weaknesses
AI-Powered Analysis
Machine-generated threat intelligence
Technical Analysis
This vulnerability involves a permissions issue in macOS that could be exploited by a malicious app to escalate privileges to root. Apple fixed the issue by implementing additional restrictions in specific macOS versions: Sequoia 15.7.8, Sonoma 14.8.8, and Tahoe 26.6. The CVSS score is 7.8, indicating a high severity with local attack vector, low attack complexity, requiring low privileges but no user interaction, and impacts confidentiality, integrity, and availability.
Potential Impact
A successful exploit allows a malicious application to gain root privileges on the affected macOS system, potentially leading to full system compromise including unauthorized access, modification, or disruption of system resources.
Mitigation Recommendations
Apply the official patches by upgrading to macOS Sequoia 15.7.8, macOS Sonoma 14.8.8, or macOS Tahoe 26.6 where this vulnerability is fixed. No other mitigation or temporary workaround is indicated in the available data.
Technical Details
- Data Version
- 5.2
- Assigner Short Name
- apple
- Date Reserved
- 2026-04-07T19:58:20.173Z
- State
- PUBLISHED
Threat ID: 6a67c1b29c2644c7f8cb0db1
Added to database: 07/27/2026, 20:38:10 UTC
Last enriched: 07/30/2026, 00:15:00 UTC
Last updated: 09/10/2026, 20:02:09 UTC
Views: 39
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