CVE-2026-28924
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 race condition was addressed with improved handling of symbolic links. This issue is fixed in macOS Sequoia 15.7.7, macOS Sonoma 14.8.7, macOS Tahoe 26.5. An app may be able to access Contacts without user consent.
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 · high confidenceA race condition in macOS symlink handling allows an application to bypass user consent requirements and access Contacts data without authorization. The vulnerability exploits timing issues in symbolic link processing to circumvent permission checks.
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, < 14.8.7>= 15.0, < 15.7.7>= 26.0, < 26.5CVSS 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
- High
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/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 versionRun 'sw_vers -productVersion' in Terminal or click Apple menu > About This Mac > System Report > Software > System VersionAffected if The version is >= 14.0 and < 14.8.7, OR >= 15.0 and < 15.7.7, OR >= 26.0 and < 26.5
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Identify applications with Contacts accessOpen System Settings > Privacy & Security > Contacts, or run 'tccutil list Contacts' in Terminal to see which apps have been granted Contacts permissionsAffected if Any untrusted or suspicious third-party applications are listed with Contacts access granted
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Review recent Contacts access attemptsRun 'log show --predicate 'subsystem == "com.apple.contacts"' --last 24h' to inspect system logs for Contacts access eventsAffected if Access events appear from applications you did not intentionally authorize
Your system is affected if it runs a vulnerable macOS version (14.0-14.8.6, 15.0-15.7.6, or 26.0-26.4) AND has any applications with Contacts permissions that could exploit the race condition.
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 · scoped14.8.715.7.726.5
Apply the available macOS updates (Sequoia 15.7.7, Sonoma 14.8.7, or Tahoe 26.5) to patched systems, or ensure users have not granted excessive permissions to untrusted applications.
macOS Sonoma 14.8.7 / macOS Sequoia 15.7.7 / macOS Tahoe 26.5 (depending on current major version)
- Identify the current macOS version by clicking the Apple menu and selecting About This Mac
- Determine the appropriate upgrade path based on current version: macOS 14.x (Sonoma) → 14.8.7, macOS 15.x (Sequoia) → 15.7.7, or macOS 26.x (Tahoe) → 26.5
- Back up critical data using Time Machine or another backup method before proceeding
- Open System Settings → General → Software Update
- Click Check for Update and install the available security update containing the fix for CVE-2026-28924
- Restart the Mac when prompted to complete the installation
- Verify the update was successful by checking About This Mac to confirm the new version number
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
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2026-28924 — 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-2026-28924 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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- 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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