CVE-2026-39875: 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 flaw in Apple macOS that could be exploited by a malicious app to escalate privileges to root. The flaw was mitigated by implementing additional restrictions in the affected operating system versions. The vulnerability is tracked as CWE-276 (Incorrect Default Permissions). It affects versions of macOS prior to Sequoia 15.7.8, Sonoma 14.8.8, and Tahoe 26.6. The CVSS v3.1 base score is 7.8, indicating high severity, with attack vector local, low attack complexity, low privileges required, no user interaction, and high impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability.
Potential Impact
A successful exploitation of this vulnerability allows a malicious application with local access to escalate privileges to root, potentially leading to full system compromise including unauthorized access, modification, or destruction of data and system resources.
Mitigation Recommendations
The vulnerability is fixed in macOS Sequoia 15.7.8, macOS Sonoma 14.8.8, and macOS Tahoe 26.6. Users and administrators should update affected macOS installations to these versions or later to remediate the issue. No additional mitigation guidance is provided or required beyond applying the official patches.
CVE-2026-39875: 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 flaw in Apple macOS that could be exploited by a malicious app to escalate privileges to root. The flaw was mitigated by implementing additional restrictions in the affected operating system versions. The vulnerability is tracked as CWE-276 (Incorrect Default Permissions). It affects versions of macOS prior to Sequoia 15.7.8, Sonoma 14.8.8, and Tahoe 26.6. The CVSS v3.1 base score is 7.8, indicating high severity, with attack vector local, low attack complexity, low privileges required, no user interaction, and high impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability.
Potential Impact
A successful exploitation of this vulnerability allows a malicious application with local access to escalate privileges to root, potentially leading to full system compromise including unauthorized access, modification, or destruction of data and system resources.
Mitigation Recommendations
The vulnerability is fixed in macOS Sequoia 15.7.8, macOS Sonoma 14.8.8, and macOS Tahoe 26.6. Users and administrators should update affected macOS installations to these versions or later to remediate the issue. No additional mitigation guidance is provided or required beyond applying the official patches.
Technical Details
- Data Version
- 5.2
- Assigner Short Name
- apple
- Date Reserved
- 2026-04-07T19:58:20.173Z
- State
- PUBLISHED
Threat ID: 6a67c1b29c2644c7f8cb0db6
Added to database: 07/27/2026, 20:38:10 UTC
Last enriched: 08/06/2026, 13:36:55 UTC
Last updated: 09/11/2026, 07:31:53 UTC
Views: 87
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