CVE-2026-28838
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 · uneditedA permissions issue was addressed with additional sandbox restrictions. 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 break out of its sandbox.
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 confidenceA permissions issue in macOS allowed an application to escape its sandbox containment. The vulnerability was addressed by implementing additional sandbox restrictions in the affected 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>= 14.0, < 14.8.5>= 15.0, < 15.7.5>= 26.0, < 26.4CVSS 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
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- Low
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N
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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check macOS version numberRun `sw_vers -productVersion` in Terminal or open System Settings > About This MacAffected if The version is 14.0 through 14.8.4, 15.0 through 15.7.4, or 26.0 through 26.3
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Confirm macOS release nameRun `sw_vers -productVersionExtra` in Terminal to see the marketing name (Sonoma, Sequoia, or Tahoe)Affected if Running Sonoma, Sequoia, or Tahoe within the vulnerable version ranges above
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Verify sandbox is enabled for applicationsCheck that apps are sandboxed by default: inspect an application's entitlements with `codesign -d --entitlements - /Applications/AppName.app` (substitute an actual app path)Affected if The application has sandbox entitlements enabled (com.apple.security.app-sandbox true), which is the default for most applications and required for this escape to apply
You are affected if your macOS version is 14.0-14.8.4, 15.0-15.7.4, or 26.0-26.3 AND you run sandboxed applications, which is the default configuration.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 · scoped14.8.515.7.526.4
Apply the macOS security updates: Sequoia 15.7.5, Sonoma 14.8.5, or Tahoe 26.4 (or later) to address the sandbox escape vulnerability.
For macOS 14.x (Sonoma): upgrade to 14.8.5 or later; For macOS 15.x (Sequoia): upgrade to 15.7.5 or later; For macOS 26.x (Tahoe): upgrade to 26.4 or later
- Open System Settings (or System Preferences on older macOS versions)
- Navigate to General > Software Update
- Allow macOS to check for available updates
- If updates are available, click Download and Install
- Ensure the device is connected to power during the update process
- After downloading completes, follow the on-screen instructions to install the update
- Restart the device if prompted to complete the installation
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,200.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2026-28838 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2026-28838 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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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.
- 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
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