Root privilege escalation in CUPS directory path parsing on macOS
CVE-2026-28915 is a local privilege-escalation vulnerability in CUPS on macOS caused by a parsing issue in the handling of directory paths. Apple states the flaw was addressed with improved path validation. The issue affects macOS Sonoma, macOS Sequoia, and macOS Tahoe, and was fixed in macOS Sonoma 14.8.7, macOS Sequoia 15.7.7, and macOS Tahoe 26.5. Based on the advisory text and component attribution, improper validation of directory path input in CUPS could allow a local app to interact with paths in an unsafe way and cross intended privilege boundaries, resulting in elevation to root.
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Impact, mitigation & remediation
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Impact
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Mitigation
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Remediation
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Exploits
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No public exploit code observed for this vulnerability.
Affected products & vendors
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Vendor-confirmed product mapping. Mallory continuously reconciles this list against your asset inventory.
Recent activity
9 sources tracked across advisories, community write-ups, and news. New activity surfaces here as Mallory finds it.
A privilege escalation vulnerability in CUPS that may allow an app to gain root privileges.
A path parsing vulnerability in macOS Tahoe that may allow an app to gain root privileges.
A privilege escalation vulnerability in macOS Sonoma that may allow an app to gain root privileges due to improper directory path handling.
A directory path parsing vulnerability in macOS Tahoe that could allow an app to gain root privileges.
The version that knows your environment.
Query your assets running an affected version, and investigate the blast radius.
Every observed campaign linking this CVE to a named adversary.
Malware families riding this exploit, with evidence and IOCs.
YARA, Sigma, Snort, and vendor rules, auto-deployed to your SIEM.
Cross-references every affected SKU, including bundled OEM variants.
Community discussion across Reddit, Mastodon, and other social sources.