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macOSOperating system · Apple

CVE-2026-28978

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-05-11
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 14.8.7 / 15.7.7 or later.
See remediation →
90/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
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 permissions issue was addressed with additional restrictions. This issue is fixed in macOS Sequoia 15.7.7, macOS Sonoma 14.8.7, macOS Tahoe 26.5. A malicious 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 confidence

A sandbox escape vulnerability in macOS allows a malicious application to break out of its sandbox isolation through improper permission restrictions. The fix involves adding additional restrictions to prevent apps from escaping their sandboxed environment.

MitigationApply the Apple security updates (macOS Sequoia 15.7.7, Sonoma 14.8.7, or Tahoe 26.5) to all affected systems. Verify the sandbox escape is no longer possible after patching.

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, < 14.8.7>= 15.0, < 15.7.7>= 26.0, < 26.5

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
Changed
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/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
    Run `sw_vers -productVersion` in Terminal to get the exact version number (e.g., 14.6.1, 15.4, 26.2)
    Affected if The version falls within 14.0 to 14.8.6, 15.0 to 15.7.6, or 26.0 to 26.4 (any version less than 14.8.7, 15.7.7, or 26.5 respectively)
  2. Confirm macOS release name
    Run `sw_vers -productVersion` and map the major version: 14.x is Sonoma, 15.x is Sequoia, 26.x is Tahoe
    Affected if The system is running Sonoma, Sequoia, or Tahoe within the affected version ranges from step 1
  3. Check if App Sandbox is enabled
    Run `system_profiler SPAppSandboxDataType 2>/dev/null | grep -i 'sandbox'` or inspect individual app sandbox status via `csreq -r /path/to/app.app --xml` if available
    Affected if Any sandboxed applications are present on the system, since the vulnerability allows escaping from any sandboxed app

The system is affected if the installed macOS version is less than 14.8.7 (Sonoma), 15.7.7 (Sequoia), or 26.5 (Tahoe), AND the system runs sandboxed applications which could be exploited to escape their sandbox.

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 14.8.7 / 15.7.7 / 26.5 or later
Fixed in 14.8.715.7.726.5
Interim mitigation

Apply the Apple security updates (macOS Sequoia 15.7.7, Sonoma 14.8.7, or Tahoe 26.5) to all affected systems. Verify the sandbox escape is no longer possible after patching.

Recommended fix High confidence

macOS Sonoma 14.8.7 or macOS Sequoia 15.7.7 or macOS Tahoe 26.5 (depending on current version line)

  1. Identify the current macOS version by clicking the Apple menu and selecting About This Mac
  2. Determine which upgrade path applies: if running macOS 14.x (Sonoma), upgrade to 14.8.7; if running macOS 15.x (Sequoia), upgrade to 15.7.7; if running macOS 26.x (Tahoe), upgrade to 26.5
  3. Back up important data using Time Machine or another backup solution
  4. Open System Settings and navigate to General > Software Update
  5. Click Check for Update and install the available security update that corresponds to your version line
  6. Restart the Mac when prompted to complete the installation
  7. Verify the installed version matches the target fixed release by checking About This Mac
Caveat Apple security updates typically have minimal risk; standard precaution is to back up data before applying any system update

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

Fix this in macOS Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
7.0 hours of engineering $1,180
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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-2026-28978 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