CVE-2026-78236

Local privilege escalation via XPC process masquerading

Published Aug 26, 2026 · Updated Aug 28, 2026

Local privilege escalation in Admin By Request 5.2.2 and earlier allows local users to gain administrator privileges on macOS. The macOS client's PIN derivation and XPC trust path accept a process masquerading as Apple-signed as eligible to communicate with the privileged service. Exploitation requires low-privileged endpoint access and programmatic execution, after which the process gains administrator rights.

CVSS severity8.8
High
EPSS probability0.09%
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 Admin By Request 5.2.2 and earlier allows local users to gain administrator privileges on macOS. The macOS client's PIN derivation and XPC trust path accept a process masquerading as Apple-signed as eligible to communicate with the privileged service. Exploitation requires low-privileged endpoint access and programmatic execution, after which the process gains administrator rights.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-78236
Published
Aug 26, 2026
Updated
Aug 28, 2026
Vendor
Admin By Request
Product
Admin By Request
Classifications
CWE-327, CWE-284, CWE-287, CWE-285, T1068
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Aug 26, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 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=5.2.2 and below

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

Admin By Request · Admin By Requestversion=5.2.2 and below

Published CVSS scores

8.8Cyber Security Agency of SingaporeCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/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.

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 exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-327Use of a Broken or Risky Cryptographic Algorithm
CWE-284Improper Access Control
CWE-287Improper Authentication
CWE-285Improper Authorization
T1068Exploitation for Privilege Escalation

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

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Your stack

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