Local application root privilege escalation
Published Mar 20, 2025 · Updated Apr 2, 2026
Privilege escalation in PackageKit in Apple macOS before 14.6 allows local users to gain root privileges through a malicious app. Apple identifies PackageKit but discloses only that the vulnerable code was removed, leaving the faulty authorization operation unspecified. Exploitation requires the ability to run a low-privileged application locally and grants full root-level control of the host.
Summary
What happened
Privilege escalation in PackageKit in Apple macOS before 14.6 allows local users to gain root privileges through a malicious app. Apple identifies PackageKit but discloses only that the vulnerable code was removed, leaving the faulty authorization operation unspecified. Exploitation requires the ability to run a low-privileged application locally and grants full root-level control of the host.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2024-44305
- Published
- Mar 20, 2025
- Updated
- Apr 2, 2026
- Vendor
- Apple
- Product
- macOS
- Classifications
- CWE-863, T1068
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Mar 20, 2025CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Apr 2, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
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Is a vulnerable build present?
Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.
- Affected versionversion=0 <14.6
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
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.
Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
No public exploit references are available in this record.
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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