CVE-2026-28976
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 · uneditedAn information leakage was addressed with additional validation. This issue is fixed in macOS Tahoe 26.5. 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 confidenceThis is a local privilege escalation vulnerability in macOS where an information leakage flaw allowed an application to potentially gain root privileges. The issue was addressed with additional validation and is fixed in macOS Tahoe 26.5.
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>= 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.
-
Identify the operating systemRun 'uname -s' or check System Settings > About to confirm this is macOSAffected if The system is not running macOS (this CVE only affects macOS)
-
Get the macOS version numberRun 'sw_vers -productVersion' in Terminal, or open System Settings > About > macOS versionAffected if The command fails or the system is not macOS
-
Compare against the affected version rangeCheck if the installed version is 26.0, 26.1, 26.2, 26.3, 26.4, or any 26.x version below 26.5Affected if The installed macOS version is 26.0 or higher but lower than 26.5 (e.g., 26.0, 26.0.1, 26.1, 26.2, 26.3, 26.4, 26.4.1)
-
Verify the security update statusRun 'system_profiler SPSoftwareDataType' in Terminal and look for 'Security Update' entries under the macOS version, or check System Settings > Software Update for installed updatesAffected if The system shows a macOS 26.x base version without the 26.5 security update installed
The system is affected if it runs macOS versions 26.0 through 26.4.x and has not installed the macOS Tahoe 26.5 security update.
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 · scoped26.5
Apply the macOS Tahoe 26.5 security update or later to remediate this vulnerability.
macOS Tahoe 26.5
- Back up important data before performing the system update
- Open System Settings (or System Preferences on older macOS versions)
- Navigate to General > Software Update
- Wait for macOS to check for available updates
- If macOS Tahoe 26.5 is shown, click 'Update Now' or 'Upgrade Now' to download and install the update
- Follow the on-screen instructions and allow the system to restart as needed
- After the update completes, verify the installed macOS version by going to System Settings > General > About
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,488.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2026-28976 — 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-2026-28976 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
Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.
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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data