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macOS EUVDEUVD-2026-15085

| CVE-2026-28821 HIGH
Improper Access Control (CWE-284)
2026-03-25 apple GHSA-7jx6-r36g-7pwq
8.4
CVSS 3.1 · NVD
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Attack ChainAIDerived

Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain

  1. Access
    Craft malicious application with forged entitlements
  2. Exploit
    Bypass entitlement verification logic
  3. Execution
    Execute code with elevated privileges
  4. Impact
    Gain unauthorized system access

Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A01:2025 - Broken Access Control
ASVS 5.0
V8 - Authorization Access control enforcement
MITRE ATT&CK

1 technique across 1 tactic: Defense Evasion

The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up.

Exploitation Conditions

Local attacker with no privileges on macOS systems running Sequoia before 15.7.5, Sonoma before 14.8.5, or Tahoe before 26.4. Malicious app exploits entitlement verification validation flaw to gain elevated privileges without user interaction.

Impact

Without a published CVSS score or EPSS data, risk assessment relies on vulnerability characteristics and scope. The absence of CVSS metrics suggests either pending analysis or intentional non-disclosure by Apple. However, the flaw enables privilege escalation (a critical impact category), affects a widely-deployed platform affecting millions of users, and requires no network interaction (local privilege escalation vector). The vulnerability likely requires user interaction or local code execution capability to exploit, suggesting attack complexity is moderate. The immediate availability of patches from Apple (three simultaneous releases) indicates the vendor considers this a material security issue warranting rapid deployment. Without POC documentation or KEV listing confirmation, this appears to be a zero-day or near-zero-day disclosure being handled responsibly, presenting moderate to high real-world risk depending on exploit complexity and whether public POC emerges.

Exploit ScenarioDerived

An attacker with local code execution capability could craft a malicious application that includes a specially crafted entitlement declaration. Due to the validation flaw, the macOS kernel would fail to properly verify the entitlement signature or validity, allowing the app to execute privileged operations (such as accessing protected files, modifying system settings, or injecting code into system processes) that should be restricted by the sandbox. A user social-engineered into downloading and running a trojanized application from a third-party source could unknowingly grant an attacker persistent system-level access and the ability to compromise all user data on the device.

This Week Schedule remediation this week. Why: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9).
Patch available 0.0% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAIv1 – Mar 25, 2026

A validation flaw in macOS entitlement verification allows applications to bypass privilege checks and gain elevated system privileges. The vulnerability affects macOS Sequoia 15.7.4 and earlier, macOS Sonoma 14.8.4 and earlier, and macOS Tahoe 26.3 and earlier. Apple has addressed this issue through improved validation of process entitlements in patched versions (15.7.5, 14.8.5, and 26.4 respectively), but no CVSS score, EPSS data, or KEV inclusion status is currently available, limiting immediate risk quantification.

RemediationAI

Users must upgrade immediately to the patched versions: macOS Sequoia 15.7.5 or later, macOS Sonoma 14.8.4 or later, or macOS Tahoe 26.4 or later, depending on their installed macOS version. Patch availability is confirmed through Apple's official security advisories linked above (https://support.apple.com/en-us/126794, https://support.apple.com/en-us/126795, https://support.apple.com/en-us/126796). For organizations unable to immediately patch, mitigation strategies include restricting execution of untrusted applications, enforcing System Integrity Protection (SIP) and Gatekeeper at their strictest settings, limiting user account privileges to standard (non-administrative) levels, and deploying Mobile Device Management (MDM) to enforce security policies and control application execution. No workarounds exist to disable entitlement checking without compromising macOS security architecture.

Affected VersionsENISA

macOS 0 <14.8.5
macOS 0 <26.4
macOS 0 <15.7.5

Affected Packages

euvd macos fix: 14.8.5, 15.7.5, 26.4

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

The vulnerability resides in macOS's entitlement verification subsystem, a security mechanism responsible for enforcing application sandbox restrictions and privilege boundaries. Entitlements are cryptographically signed declarations embedded in application code signatures that define which system APIs and resources an app may access. The CWE classification is not specified, but the description indicates an improper validation issue (likely CWE-347: Improper Verification of Cryptographic Signature or CWE-439: Attribute Validation Using an Incorrect Regular Expression). The affected CPE (cpe:2.3:a:apple:macos:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*) indicates this flaw affects multiple macOS major versions. The kernel and code-signing subsystem are the likely technical components involved, as they enforce entitlement checks at process launch and during privileged operations.

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Severity by source

NVD PRIMARY 8.4 HIGH
AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Primary rating from NVD · only source for this CVE.

CVSS VectorNVD

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

Lifecycle Timeline

3
Analysis Updated
Apr 16, 2026 - 06:17 EUVD-patch-fix
executive summary
Patch available
Apr 16, 2026 - 05:29 EUVD
14.8.5,26.4,15.7.5
CVE Published
Mar 25, 2026 - 00:32 nvd
HIGH 8.4

DescriptionCVE.org

A validation issue existed in the entitlement verification. This issue was addressed with improved validation of the process entitlement. This issue is fixed in macOS Sequoia 15.7.5, macOS Sonoma 14.8.5, macOS Tahoe 26.4. An app may be able to gain elevated privileges.

Executive ViewAI

Why It Matters

CVE-2026-28821 is a high-severity privilege escalation vulnerability in macOS that allows applications to bypass system privilege checks and gain elevated access. This affects all supported macOS versions (Sequoia, Sonoma, and Tahoe), potentially enabling unauthorized administrative-level actions on affected systems. Organizations with macOS-dependent infrastructure should prioritize patching to prevent unauthorized privilege escalation attacks.

Business Impact: High
Compensating Controls

Apply vendor patch.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score
0.0%
Top 96% exploitable
Data Quality
5 sources
Confidence: Medium

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.

SignalValue
Severity HIGH
CISA KEV No
Public POC No
EPSS 0.0%
Patch available Yes
Active threat No
Deciding rule
HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9)
What every action level means
Emergency Immediate action required. Criteria: CRITICAL + in CISA KEV (actively exploited) without patch, OR CRITICAL + EPSS > 30% without patch, OR CRITICAL + active threat signals without patch.
Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Criteria: in KEV with patch available, OR CRITICAL + public POC, OR HIGH + EPSS > 10%, OR CRITICAL + active threat, OR any CRITICAL severity.
This Week Schedule remediation this week. Criteria: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9). Patch within normal change window.
This Month Plan within 30 days. Criteria: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9), lower exploitation probability. Include in regular patch cycle.
Monitor Track and reassess. Criteria: LOW severity (CVSS 0.1-3.9), minimal exploitation risk. No immediate action needed.

SSVC AssessmentENISA

SSVC Decision
Scheduled
Exploitation
None
System Exposure· derived
Small
Automatable
No
Human Impact
High
Technical Impact
Partial

Priority Score

42
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: 0
CVSS: +42
PoC: 0
Weaponized: 0
Threat intel: 0
Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

Authentication bypass attacks exploit flaws in the verification mechanisms that control access to systems and applications.

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