CVE-2026-86819

Local privilege escalation via unpinned XPC client validation

Published Sep 8, 2026 · Updated Sep 8, 2026

Local privilege escalation in Waves Central 16.6.2 through 16.7.2 allows local users to execute scripts with root privileges. The privileged helper compares a connecting XPC client's certificate chain with its own instead of enforcing a pinned application identifier and Team ID. Exploitation requires local authenticated access and code execution inside a vendor-signed process, after which the helper runs an attacker-controlled script as root.

CVSS severity8.4
High
EPSS probability0.07%
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 Waves Central 16.6.2 through 16.7.2 allows local users to execute scripts with root privileges. The privileged helper compares a connecting XPC client's certificate chain with its own instead of enforcing a pinned application identifier and Team ID. Exploitation requires local authenticated access and code execution inside a vendor-signed process, after which the helper runs an attacker-controlled script as root.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-86819
Published
Sep 8, 2026
Updated
Sep 8, 2026
Vendor
Waves Audio Ltd.
Product
Waves Central
Classifications
CWE-862, T1068
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Sep 8, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Sep 8, 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=16.6.2 <17.0

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

Waves Audio Ltd. · Waves Centralversion=16.6.2 <17.0

Published CVSS scores

7.1CISA CoordinatorCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N
8.4CISA CoordinatorCVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N

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 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-862Missing Authorization
T1068Exploitation for Privilege Escalation

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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