dbcve.org
macOSOperating system · Apple

CVE-2026-20610

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-02-11
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 26.3 or later.
See remediation →
80/100
Remediation priority · High
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
This issue was addressed with improved handling of symlinks. This issue is fixed in macOS Tahoe 26.3. An app may be able to gain root privileges.

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 symlink handling vulnerability in macOS allows a local application to escalate privileges to root. The issue was addressed with improved symlink handling logic.

MitigationApply macOS Tahoe 26.3 or later security update to patch the vulnerability.

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
macOSOperating system
Affected:< 26.3

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
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

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 macOS version
    Open Terminal and run 'sw_vers -productVersion' or go to Apple menu > About This Mac to view the macOS version number
    Affected if The displayed version is below 26.3 (e.g., 26.2, 26.1, 25.x, etc.)
  2. Verify system integrity protection status
    Run 'csrutil status' in Terminal to check if System Integrity Protection is enabled
    Affected if SIP is disabled, as this could make privilege escalation easier
  3. Check for recent privilege escalation attempts
    Review system logs with 'log show --predicate 'eventMessage contains "symlink"' --last 24h' for any suspicious symlink-related activity
    Affected if Unexpected symlink creation or traversal events by untrusted applications are found

You are affected if your macOS version is lower than 26.3 and local untrusted applications can create or manipulate symlinks on the system.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 26.3 or later
Fixed in 26.3
Interim mitigation

Apply macOS Tahoe 26.3 or later security update to patch the vulnerability.

Recommended fix High confidence

macOS Tahoe 26.3

  1. Back up important data on the Mac before starting the upgrade
  2. Check the current macOS version by clicking the Apple menu and selecting About This Mac
  3. If not already on macOS Tahoe 26.3, open System Settings and navigate to General > Software Update
  4. Click Check for Update and wait for macOS Tahoe 26.3 to appear
  5. Click Download and Install to download the update
  6. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation
  7. Restart the Mac when prompted to apply the update
  8. After restart, verify the macOS version is 26.3 by checking About This Mac
Caveat Major macOS upgrades may have application compatibility implications; review app vendor compatibility notes before upgrading

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in macOS Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
16.0 hours of engineering $2,800
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,480.

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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-2026-20610 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