CVE-2020-25533Public exploit

Privileged daemon actions via XPC PID reuse

Published Jan 15, 2021 · Updated Aug 4, 2024

Privilege escalation in Malwarebytes before 4.0 for macOS allows local users to execute privileged launch-daemon actions through XPC. The connection validator derives a SecCode identity from a reusable process identifier rather than the XPC audit token, allowing queued requests to outlive the validated process image. A malicious local application must win a posix_spawn PID-reuse race; the published proof of concept invokes the privileged restartOS method and reboots the Mac.

CVSS severity7.0
High
EPSS probability0.27%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Privilege escalation in Malwarebytes before 4.0 for macOS allows local users to execute privileged launch-daemon actions through XPC. The connection validator derives a SecCode identity from a reusable process identifier rather than the XPC audit token, allowing queued requests to outlive the validated process image. A malicious local application must win a posix_spawn PID-reuse race; the published proof of concept invokes the privileged restartOS method and reboots the Mac.

The record

CVE
CVE-2020-25533
Published
Jan 15, 2021
Updated
Aug 4, 2024
Vendor
Unknown vendor
Product
Unknown product
Classifications
CWE-362, T1068
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Jan 15, 2021CVE 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

7.0NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
6.9NIST NVDAV:L/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

CWE-362Concurrent Execution using Shared Resource with Improper Synchronization ('Race Condition')
T1068Exploitation for Privilege Escalation

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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