dbcve.org
Mac Os XOperating system · Apple

CVE-2015-7052

HIGH · 7.2 CVSS v2.0 Published 2015-12-11
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 10.11.1 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
kext tools in Apple OS X before 10.11.2 mishandles kernel-extension loading, which allows local users to gain privileges via unspecified vectors.

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

The kext tools in Apple OS X before 10.11.2 contain a flaw in the kernel-extension loading mechanism that allows local authenticated users to elevate privileges to kernel level through unspecified vectors, resulting in arbitrary code execution with elevated permissions.

MitigationUpgrade to OS X 10.11.2 or later to patch the vulnerable kext tools component. Alternatively, restrict local user access to the system until the update can be applied.

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:<= 10.11.1

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. Check installed OS X version
    Open Terminal and run: sw_vers -productVersion
    Affected if The version returned is 10.11.1 or lower (any version <= 10.11.1)
  2. Verify kext tools are present
    Check if /usr/sbin/kext tools exist: ls -la /usr/sbin/kext*
    Affected if The kext tools binaries are present and executable by the user
  3. Check user privileges for kext loading
    Run: groups $USER | grep -E '(admin|wheel|staff)'
    Affected if The current user belongs to admin, wheel, or staff groups (required for kext loading)
  4. Inspect loaded kernel extensions
    Run: kextstat | grep -v 'com.apple'
    Affected if Any non-Apple kexts are loaded, indicating potential exploitation or prior privilege escalation

A user is affected if they are running OS X 10.11.1 or earlier AND have admin-level access that allows loading kernel extensions.

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 10.11.1
Interim mitigation

Upgrade to OS X 10.11.2 or later to patch the vulnerable kext tools component. Alternatively, restrict local user access to the system until the update can be applied.

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
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,424.

Scan for this in your stack

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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-2015-7052 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