Root privilege escalation via DesktopServices race condition
Published Sep 14, 2026 · Updated Sep 14, 2026
Race condition in DesktopServices in Apple macOS Tahoe before 26.6 allows local users to gain root privileges through a malicious app. DesktopServices performs an undisclosed operation without sufficient locking, allowing concurrent app-controlled activity to reach a privileged state. Exploitation requires execution of a malicious app on the Mac and results in root-level privilege escalation; Apple has not disclosed the raced operation.
Summary
What happened
Race condition in DesktopServices in Apple macOS Tahoe before 26.6 allows local users to gain root privileges through a malicious app. DesktopServices performs an undisclosed operation without sufficient locking, allowing concurrent app-controlled activity to reach a privileged state. Exploitation requires execution of a malicious app on the Mac and results in root-level privilege escalation; Apple has not disclosed the raced operation.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-43783
- Published
- Sep 14, 2026
- Updated
- Sep 14, 2026
- Vendor
- Apple
- Product
- macOS
- Classifications
- T1068
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- Unavailable
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Sep 14, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Sep 14, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
Compare your product and version with the public record. A matching version still requires validation against your environment.
Is a vulnerable build present?
Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.
- Affected versionversion=0 <26.6
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
No CVSS assessment is available in this record.
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.
Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.
Technologies
Your stack
See the directory against your own environment.
Your stack
Check the software in your environment
Book a demo to see how Hinoki identifies affected software and validates exploitability in your environment.
Book a demo