CVE-2026-28888
Received Received - Intake

Race Condition in macOS Allows Privilege Escalation to Root

Publication date: 2026-03-25

Last updated on: 2026-03-25

Assigner: Apple Inc.

Description
A race condition was addressed with improved state handling. 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 root privileges.

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Meta Information

Published
2026-03-25
Last Modified
2026-03-25
Generated
2026-07-06
AI Q&A
2026-03-25
EPSS Evaluated
2026-07-04
NVD
CVE-2026-28888
EUVD
EUVD-2026-15166

Affected Vendors & Products

Showing 3 associated CPEs
Vendor Product Version / Range
apple macos From 14.0 (inc) to 14.8.5 (exc)
apple macos From 15.0 (inc) to 15.7.5 (exc)
apple macos From 26.0 (inc) to 26.4 (exc)

Helpful Resources

Exploitability

CWE
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KEV
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CWE ID Description
CWE-362 The product contains a concurrent code sequence that requires temporary, exclusive access to a shared resource, but a timing window exists in which the shared resource can be modified by another code sequence operating concurrently.

Attack-Flow Graph

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Executive Summary

This vulnerability is a race condition issue in certain versions of macOS. A race condition occurs when the behavior of software depends on the sequence or timing of uncontrollable events, potentially leading to unexpected behavior. In this case, the race condition could allow an application to gain root privileges by exploiting improper state handling.

Impact Analysis

If exploited, this vulnerability could allow an application to gain root privileges on affected macOS systems. Root privileges provide full control over the system, which could lead to unauthorized access, modification, or deletion of data, installation of malicious software, and overall compromise of system security.

Compliance Impact

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Detection Guidance

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Mitigation Strategies

To mitigate this vulnerability, update your macOS system to one of the fixed versions: macOS Sequoia 15.7.5, macOS Sonoma 14.8.5, or macOS Tahoe 26.4.

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