CVE-2026-49237Public exploit

Local privilege escalation via writable PATH binaries

Published May 28, 2026 · Updated May 28, 2026

Local privilege escalation in Canonical Multipass for macOS before 1.16.3 allows local users to execute arbitrary code as root. Five installer-owned auxiliary binaries remain writable in a directory placed first in the root LaunchDaemon's PATH, and multipassd invokes qemu-img by its bare name. The installing user can replace that binary and trigger execution during a VM launch without a password, network access, or additional user interaction.

CVSS severity7.8
High
EPSS probability0.14%
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 Canonical Multipass for macOS before 1.16.3 allows local users to execute arbitrary code as root. Five installer-owned auxiliary binaries remain writable in a directory placed first in the root LaunchDaemon's PATH, and multipassd invokes qemu-img by its bare name. The installing user can replace that binary and trigger execution during a VM launch without a password, network access, or additional user interaction.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-49237
Published
May 28, 2026
Updated
May 28, 2026
Vendor
Canonical
Product
Multipass
Classifications
CWE-276, T1574.007
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. May 28, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. May 28, 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.

  1. Affected versionversion=0 <1.16.3

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

Canonical · Multipassversion=0 <1.16.3

Published CVSS scores

7.8Canonical Ltd.CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

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.

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No observations available

Sep 9, 2026Sep 15, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 15, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitPublished

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-276Incorrect Default Permissions
T1574.007Path Interception by PATH Environment Variable

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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