Attack ChainAIDerived
Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain
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AccessDeliver malicious app to macOS host
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ExploitApp executes with user privileges
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ExecutionBypass improved-privacy check
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ImpactRead sensitive user data
Vulnerability Assessment
| Weakness |
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A01:2025 - Broken Access Control
ASVS 5.0
V14 - Data Protection Data exposure prevention
MITRE ATT&CK
2 techniques across 2 tactics: Collection, Discovery The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up. |
| Exploitation Conditions | Exploitation requires an attacker-controlled app to already be present and executing locally on a macOS system running a version below Golden Gate 27 (per CVSS AV:L and the description 'An app may be able to access sensitive user data'). The app leverages a weakness in a privacy check to reach data it should not be authorized to read. Limiting factors: there is no remote network vector, the attacker must first achieve local app execution (typically via social engineering, sideloading, or an already-installed app), and the issue is fully remediated by updating to macOS Golden Gate 27; impact is confined to disclosure of sensitive user data with no integrity or availability effect. |
| Impact | This is a moderate-severity local information-disclosure issue (CVSS 5.5, CWE-200) that does NOT rise to active-priority status. The CVSS vector CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N is internally consistent and aligns with the description: it requires local access (AV:L) via an already-present app running with some privilege (PR:L), low complexity, no user interaction, and yields high confidentiality impact but no integrity or availability impact. All exploitation signals point the same direction and reinforce a low real-world urgency: CISA SSVC lists Exploitation as 'none', Automatable 'no', and Technical Impact 'partial', consistent with no KEV listing and no public exploit. There is therefore no public exploit identified at time of analysis and no evidence of active exploitation. EPSS is not provided in the input, so probabilistic exploitation likelihood could not be factored in - but given the local-only vector and the requirement for a malicious app to already be running on the host, widespread remote exploitation is not plausible. In short, this is a legitimate privacy fix worth patching on normal cycles, not a high-real-risk emergency; the local attack vector and absence of any exploitation evidence materially lower its priority relative to its high confidentiality sub-score. |
| Exploit ScenarioDerived | A user is tricked into installing or running a malicious or trojanized app on macOS prior to version Golden Gate 27. Because the app can bypass a privacy check, it reads sensitive user data (e.g., protected files or private information) that it should not have been permitted to access. No public exploit code is known, and the attack requires local execution of the attacker's app rather than any remote network access. |
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Alert meAnalysisAIv1 – Oct 20, 2026
Privacy check bypass in Apple macOS before Golden Gate 27 allows a locally executing app with low privileges to access sensitive user data that should be protected by macOS privacy controls. The issue is scored CVSS 5.5 (AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N, CWE-200) and affects confidentiality only; Apple fixed it with improved checks in macOS Golden Gate 27. No public exploit identified at time of analysis, the CISA SSVC exploitation assessment is none, and a vendor patch is available.
RemediationAI
Apply the vendor-released patch by upgrading affected systems to macOS Golden Gate 27 (macOS 27) through Apple Software Update; the Apple advisory is https://support.apple.com/en-us/149035. Because exploitation requires an attacker-controlled app to run locally, interim controls should focus on reducing that precondition: enforce application allowlisting or managed software installation so only trusted, signed or notarized apps execute (trade-off: administrative overhead and possible blocking of legitimate third-party tools), and restrict standard users from installing or sideloading arbitrary applications (trade-off: reduced flexibility for developers and power users). Audit macOS privacy permissions for sensitive data and reset unnecessary grants; this can disrupt workflows that depend on legitimate access. No vendor workaround beyond upgrading is identified in the available data.
Affected VersionsENISA
Affected Packages
Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)
Affects your stack
Affects 1 package in euvd
Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.
Technical ContextAI · show details
Apple macOS enforces user privacy boundaries through consent and permission checks that determine whether an app can read protected user data. CVE-2026-86979 is a CWE-200 exposure-of-sensitive-information flaw in that enforcement path: an app already running locally (AV:L) with low privileges (PR:L), no user interaction (UI:N), and low attack complexity (AC:L) can bypass the intended check and read data it is not authorized to access, giving high confidentiality impact (C:H) with no integrity or availability impact. The CPE cpe:2.3:a:apple:macos:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* and EUVD range macOS 0 <27 confirm that all pre-27 macOS releases are in scope; the SSVC assessment rates exploitation as none, automatable as no, and technical impact as partial.
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- Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources
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Severity by source
AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
A locally running app abuses a privacy-check flaw, so AV:L and PR:L; low complexity and no UI; high confidentiality disclosure only, hence C:H with I:N/A:N.
Primary rating from Vendor (apple).
CVSS VectorVendor: apple
Lifecycle Timeline
4DescriptionCVE.org
A privacy issue was addressed with improved checks. This issue is fixed in macOS Golden Gate 27. An app may be able to access sensitive user data.
Threat Intelligence Overview
How this decision was reached
The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.
What every action level means
SSVC AssessmentENISA
Priority Score
Attack Technique
Information disclosure occurs when an application unintentionally exposes sensitive data that aids attackers in reconnaissance or directly compromises security.
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EUVD-2026-104740
GHSA-c46j-mwhw-r25p
NVD
CVE.org
EPSS
Vulnrichment
Exploit-DB