CVE-2026-78236
Received Received - Intake

Privilege Escalation in ABR via XPC Spoofing

Publication date: 2026-08-26

Last updated on: 2026-08-26

Assigner: CSA

Description
An insecure PIN derivation mechanism in ABR allows a low-privileged user to escalate privileges to administrator by communicating over Cross-Process Communication (XPC) while masquerading as an Apple-signed process.

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Meta Information

Published
2026-08-26
Last Modified
2026-08-26
Generated
2026-08-26
AI Q&A
2026-08-26
EPSS Evaluated
N/A
NVD
CVE-2026-78236
EUVD
EUVD-2026-66331

Affected Vendors & Products

Currently, no data is known.

Helpful Resources

Exploitability

CWE
CWE Icon
KEV
KEV Icon
CWE ID Description
CWE-285 The product does not perform or incorrectly performs an authorization check when an actor attempts to access a resource or perform an action.
CWE-287 When an actor claims to have a given identity, the product does not prove or insufficiently proves that the claim is correct.
CWE-284 The product does not restrict or incorrectly restricts access to a resource from an unauthorized actor.
CWE-327 The product uses a broken or risky cryptographic algorithm or protocol.

Attack-Flow Graph

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Executive Summary

CVE-2026-78236 is a high-severity vulnerability in the Admin By Request (ABR) privileged access management application for macOS. It involves an insecure PIN derivation mechanism that allows a low-privileged user to escalate privileges to administrator level by exploiting Cross-Process Communication (XPC) while impersonating an Apple-signed process.

Impact Analysis

This vulnerability allows an attacker with local access to gain unauthorized elevated privileges, potentially compromising the entire system. It could lead to unauthorized administrative access, data theft, or system manipulation if exploited.

Mitigation Strategies
  • Update Admin By Request to version 5.3 or later on macOS systems to address the insecure PIN derivation mechanism and XPC-based privilege escalation.
  • Ensure the latest version is installed by checking the application version and applying vendor patches immediately.

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