dbcve.org
macOSOperating system · Apple

CVE-2026-20614

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-02-11
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 14.8.4 / 15.7.4 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
A path handling issue was addressed with improved validation. This issue is fixed in macOS Sequoia 15.7.4, macOS Sonoma 14.8.4, 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

This is a local privilege escalation vulnerability in macOS stemming from insufficient path validation. An application can exploit improper path handling to gain root privileges on the affected system. The vulnerability was addressed by Apple through improved path validation in the listed macOS versions.

MitigationApply the macOS security updates (Sequoia 15.7.4, Sonoma 14.8.4, or Tahoe 26.3 depending on OS version) to remediate this 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:>= 14.0, < 14.8.4>= 15.0, < 15.7.4>= 26.0, < 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. Determine the installed macOS version
    Run 'sw_vers -productVersion' in Terminal or click Apple menu > About This Mac
    Affected if The version is 14.0 to 14.8.3, 15.0 to 15.7.3, or 26.0 to 26.2 (meaning it falls within any of the affected ranges)
  2. Confirm macOS release name
    Run 'sw_vers -productVersionExtra' if available, or check the About This Mac window for the marketing name (Sonoma, Sequoia, or Tahoe)
    Affected if The system is running Sonoma (14.x), Sequoia (15.x), or Tahoe (26.x) and the version falls in the affected range from step 1
  3. Verify kernel and system integrity status
    Run 'csrutil status' in Recovery mode to check System Integrity Protection, and verify if the system has FileVault encryption enabled using 'fdesetup status'
    Affected if System Integrity Protection is disabled (this increases the attack surface for privilege escalation vulnerabilities)
  4. Check for recent system modifications
    Review system logs for unexpected privilege escalation attempts using 'log show --predicate 'eventMessage contains "privilege"' --last 24h'
    Affected if Any suspicious entries indicate potential exploitation attempts, though the absence of logs does not guarantee safety

You are affected if your macOS version falls within 14.0-14.8.3, 15.0-15.7.3, or 26.0-26.2, since the vulnerability exists in these unpatched versions and allows local applications to escalate to root privileges through improper path validation.

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 14.8.4 / 15.7.4 / 26.3 or later
Fixed in 14.8.415.7.426.3
Interim mitigation

Apply the macOS security updates (Sequoia 15.7.4, Sonoma 14.8.4, or Tahoe 26.3 depending on OS version) to remediate this vulnerability.

Recommended fix High confidence

macOS Sonoma 14.8.4 / macOS Sequoia 15.7.4 / macOS Tahoe 26.3 (or later)

  1. Identify the current macOS version by clicking Apple menu > About This Mac
  2. Back up important data using Time Machine or another backup solution
  3. Open System Settings > General > Software Update
  4. Install the available security update: macOS 14.8.4 for Sonoma, macOS 15.7.4 for Sequoia, or macOS 26.3 for Tahoe
  5. Restart the system when prompted to complete the update installation
  6. Verify the update was installed successfully by checking the macOS version in About This Mac
Caveat Standard macOS update; may require restart and brief downtime

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

Fix this in macOS 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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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-2026-20614 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