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ElectronApplication · Electronjs

CVE-2026-34779

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-04-04
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 38.8.6 / 39.8.1 or later.
See remediation →
81/100
Remediation priority · High
No privileges

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
Electron is a framework for writing cross-platform desktop applications using JavaScript, HTML and CSS. Prior to versions 38.8.6, 39.8.1, 40.8.0, and 41.0.0-beta.8, on macOS, app.moveToApplicationsFolder() used an AppleScript fallback path that did not properly handle certain characters in the application bundle path. Under specific conditions, a crafted launch path could lead to arbitrary AppleScript execution when the user accepted the move-to-Applications prompt. Apps are only affected if they call app.moveToApplicationsFolder(). Apps that do not use this API are not affected. This issue has been patched in versions 38.8.6, 39.8.1, 40.8.0, and 41.0.0-beta.8.

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 confidence

Electron's app.moveToApplicationsFolder() API on macOS uses an AppleScript fallback that fails to sanitize certain characters in the application bundle path. When a user accepts the move-to-Applications prompt with a crafted launch path containing these characters, arbitrary AppleScript code can be executed.

MitigationUpgrade Electron to version 38.8.6, 39.8.1, 40.8.0, or 41.0.0-beta.8 or later. If upgrading is not immediately possible, avoid calling app.moveToApplicationsFolder() until the patch can be applied.

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
ElectronApplication
Affected:< 38.8.6>= 39.0.0, < 39.8.1>= 40.0.0, < 40.8.0= 41.0.0

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
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/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. Identify the operating system
    Run 'uname -s' or check system information to confirm this is a macOS environment. This vulnerability only affects macOS.
    Affected if The system is running macOS (the vulnerability does not affect Windows or Linux)
  2. Determine the Electron version
    Run 'npm list electron' in the project directory, check package.json for the electron dependency version, or run 'electron --version' if the binary is accessible.
    Affected if The installed Electron version is less than 38.8.6, OR between 39.0.0 and 39.8.0 inclusive, OR between 40.0.0 and 40.7.x inclusive, OR is exactly 41.0.0-beta
  3. Identify if app.moveToApplicationsFolder() is used
    Search source code for calls to 'app.moveToApplicationsFolder()' using grep or IDE search across the codebase.
    Affected if The application code contains a call to app.moveToApplicationsFolder() and the environment matches the affected versions above

You are affected if you are running macOS with a vulnerable Electron version (less than 38.8.6, 39.0.0-39.8.0, 40.0.0-40.7.x, or 41.0.0-beta) and your application calls app.moveToApplicationsFolder().

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 38.8.6 / 39.8.1 / 40.8.0 or later
Fixed in 38.8.639.8.140.8.0
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Electron to version 38.8.6, 39.8.1, 40.8.0, or 41.0.0-beta.8 or later. If upgrading is not immediately possible, avoid calling app.moveToApplicationsFolder() until the patch can be applied.

Recommended fix High confidence

Electron 38.8.6, 39.8.1, 40.8.0, or later stable (41.x)

  1. Identify the current Electron version used in the application by checking package.json or the Electron version file
  2. Determine if the application uses the app.moveToApplicationsFolder() API - this vulnerability only affects apps using this function
  3. Upgrade Electron to version 38.8.6, 39.8.1, 40.8.0, or a later stable version (e.g., 41.x stable)
  4. Run npm install or the package manager command to fetch the new Electron version
  5. Rebuild and repackage the Electron application
  6. Verify the fix by testing app.moveToApplicationsFolder() on macOS to confirm proper handling of special characters in the bundle path
Caveat Review Electron release notes for the targeted version for any breaking changes related to app.moveToApplicationsFolder() or other macOS-specific behavior

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

Fix this in Electron Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation3.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
8.0 hours of engineering $1,420
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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-2026-34779 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