dbcve.org
Mac Os XOperating system · Apple

CVE-2015-5888

HIGH · 7.2 CVSS v2.0 Published 2015-10-09
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 10.10.5 or later.
See remediation →
77/100
Remediation priority · High
No privileges Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
The Install Framework Legacy component in Apple OS X before 10.11 allows local users to obtain root privileges via vectors involving a privileged executable file.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · moderate confidence

A local privilege escalation vulnerability exists in the Install Framework Legacy component of Apple OS X before version 10.11. Unprivileged local users can exploit a flaw involving a privileged executable file to gain root-level access to the system.

MitigationUpdate to OS X 10.11 (El Capitan) or later to patch the vulnerability. Organizations should prioritize patching systems with local user access.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
Mac Os XOperating system
Affected:<= 10.10.5

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Local
Complexity
Low
Authentication
None
Confidentiality
Complete
Integrity
Complete
Availability
Complete

AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Determine OS X version
    Click the Apple menu, select 'About This Mac', and note the version number displayed under the OS X name
    Affected if The version shown is 10.10.5 or earlier (any version before 10.11)
  2. Confirm exact OS build if needed
    Open Terminal and run 'sw_vers -productVersion' to get the precise version number
    Affected if Output shows a version lower than 10.11 (such as 10.10.5, 10.10.4, 10.10.3, etc.)
  3. Check for Install Framework Legacy presence
    Look for the Install Framework Legacy component in the system - typically found in /System/Library/CoreServices/ or check via System Preferences for any installed Apple software update components
    Affected if The Install Framework Legacy component is present on the system

If the system is running OS X 10.10.5 or any earlier version (10.10.x before 10.11), the Install Framework Legacy component contains the privilege escalation flaw and the system is affected.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

From vendor data
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 10.10.5
Interim mitigation

Update to OS X 10.11 (El Capitan) or later to patch the vulnerability. Organizations should prioritize patching systems with local user access.

Fix this in Mac Os X Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
5.0 hours of engineering $890
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2015-5888 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data