CVE-2020-14978Public exploit

Local privilege escalation via legacy client injection

Published Jun 23, 2020 · Updated Aug 4, 2024

Local privilege escalation in F-Secure SAFE 17.7 for macOS allows local users to run privileged commands through an XPC service. The XPC listener accepts an older Apple-signed F-Secure client without verifying its version or hardened-runtime status, allowing injected code to call privileged service methods. Exploitation requires prior code execution on the Mac; protected state changes additionally require an administrator authorization prompt.

CVSS severity8.1
High
EPSS probability3.11%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Local privilege escalation in F-Secure SAFE 17.7 for macOS allows local users to run privileged commands through an XPC service. The XPC listener accepts an older Apple-signed F-Secure client without verifying its version or hardened-runtime status, allowing injected code to call privileged service methods. Exploitation requires prior code execution on the Mac; protected state changes additionally require an administrator authorization prompt.

The record

CVE
CVE-2020-14978
Published
Jun 23, 2020
Updated
Aug 4, 2024
Vendor
Unknown vendor
Product
Unknown product
Classifications
T1548.004
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Jun 23, 2020CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 4, 2024Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Affected buildAffected product and version details are unavailable.

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

Affected products and versions are unavailable in this record.

Published CVSS scores

8.1NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
9.3NIST NVDAV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitPublished

Weakness, pattern, technique

T1548.004Abuse Elevation Control Mechanism: Elevated Execution with Prompt

Public exploit references

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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