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macOSOperating system · Apple

CVE-2026-28821

HIGH · 8.4 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-03-25
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 14.8.5 / 15.7.5 or later.
See remediation →
89/100
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
A validation issue existed in the entitlement verification. This issue was addressed with improved validation of the process entitlement. This issue is fixed in macOS Sequoia 15.7.5, macOS Sonoma 14.8.5, macOS Tahoe 26.4. An app may be able to gain elevated 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 validation bypass in macOS entitlement verification allows a malicious application to gain elevated privileges by exploiting insufficient validation of process entitlements. The vulnerability resides in the entitlement checking mechanism that validates whether a process has the right to perform privileged operations.

MitigationApply the available macOS security updates: macOS Sequoia 15.7.5, macOS Sonoma 14.8.5, or macOS Tahoe 26.4. Prioritize updating systems running unpatched macOS versions.

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, < 14.8.5>= 15.0, < 15.7.5>= 26.0, < 26.4

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/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 installed macOS version
    Open Terminal and run: sw_vers -productVersion
    Affected if The displayed version falls within >= 14.0 and < 14.8.5, or >= 15.0 and < 15.7.5, or >= 26.0 and < 26.4
  2. Identify macOS release name
    Run: sw_vers -productVersion and match the major version number to the release: 14.x is Sonoma, 15.x is Sequoia, 26.x is Tahoe
    Affected if The system is running an unpatched Sonoma, Sequoia, or Tahoe release
  3. Confirm entitlement verification is active
    The entitlement checking mechanism (AMFI - Apple Mobile File Integrity on macOS) is a core security component that cannot be disabled without disabling SIP (System Integrity Protection). Verify SIP is enabled by running: csrutil status
    Affected if The system has SIP disabled, which would indicate the entitlement verification may have been altered, but note that the vulnerability exists in the patched versions regardless of SIP status

A system is affected if it runs macOS Sonoma 14.0-14.8.4, Sequoia 15.0-15.7.4, or Tahoe 26.0-26.3, as the entitlement validation bypass exists in these unpatched versions.

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 14.8.5 / 15.7.5 / 26.4 or later
Fixed in 14.8.515.7.526.4
Interim mitigation

Apply the available macOS security updates: macOS Sequoia 15.7.5, macOS Sonoma 14.8.5, or macOS Tahoe 26.4. Prioritize updating systems running unpatched macOS versions.

Recommended fix High confidence

macOS Sonoma 14.8.5, macOS Sequoia 15.7.5, or macOS Tahoe 26.4 (depending on current version)

  1. Back up your Mac using Time Machine or another backup method
  2. Ensure you have a reliable internet connection
  3. Open System Settings (or System Preferences on older macOS versions)
  4. Navigate to General > Software Update
  5. Click 'Check for Updates' or allow automatic updates
  6. Select and install the appropriate update: macOS Sonoma 14.8.5, macOS Sequoia 15.7.5, or macOS Tahoe 26.4 depending on your current macOS version
  7. Restart your Mac when prompted to complete the installation
  8. After restart, verify the update by checking System Settings > General > About to confirm the macOS version
Caveat Standard macOS update considerations apply - ensure critical applications are compatible with the target version before updating

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

Fix this in macOS Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,980
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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-2026-28821 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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