Description

A buffer overflow was addressed with improved bounds checking. This issue is fixed in macOS Sequoia 15.7.7, macOS Sonoma 14.8.7. An app may be able to cause unexpected system termination or write kernel memory.

Executive Summary

Technical Details

Mitigations

References

Additional Metadata

{
  "score": "5.5",
  "pubDate": "2026-08-25T20:17:00.333Z",
  "pubdate": "2026-08-25T20:17:00.333Z",
  "executiveSummary": "A critical buffer overflow vulnerability has been identified within the kernel subsystems of macOS, stemming from insufficient bounds checking mechanisms.\nThis vulnerability allows a local malicious application to trigger an unexpected system termination (Kernel Panic) or achieve arbitrary kernel memory write capabilities.\nAffected products include macOS Sequoia 15.7.7 and macOS Sonoma 14.8.7. The flaw poses a severe risk to system integrity, as successful exploitation bypasses standard user-space protections, potentially leading to privilege escalation or complete system compromise.\nAttackers require the ability to execute code on the target system to interface with the vulnerable kernel component. Due to the nature of kernel-level memory corruption, this vulnerability represents a high-severity threat to confidentiality, integrity, and availability.",
  "technicalDetails": "The vulnerability resides within the kernel memory management or inter-process communication interfaces where input data is processed without adequate length validation. The root cause is a classic buffer overflow condition occurring when a kernel-mode function copies or writes data into a fixed-size memory buffer without verifying that the source data length does not exceed the destination boundary.\nIn a typical attack flow, an adversary leverages a malicious application to pass specially crafted inputs through an exported kernel interface, such as a syscall or a device driver IOCTL. By providing an oversized payload, the attacker triggers the overflow, enabling the corruption of adjacent kernel memory structures, including function pointers or kernel objects.\nWhen the bounds check fails, the overflow overwrites critical data segments. If the attacker targets a function pointer, control flow hijacking may occur, redirecting the kernel execution path to arbitrary code or a Return-Oriented Programming (ROP) chain. Alternatively, by corrupting kernel heap objects, an attacker can manipulate page tables or security tokens to elevate the privileges of their process, effectively moving from an unprivileged user context to kernel-level execution.\nImpact ranges from a Denial of Service (DoS) condition, manifest as an immediate kernel panic caused by memory corruption, to full system compromise through the arbitrary writing of kernel memory. The ability to write to kernel memory allows an attacker to disable security features, inject malicious modules, or exfiltrate sensitive data from protected memory regions. As this occurs at the kernel level, traditional user-space sandboxing is ineffective at preventing the exploitation once the interface is reached.\nThe vulnerability affects macOS Sequoia 15.7.7 and macOS Sonoma 14.8.7. The exploitation is typically local, requiring the attacker to have already established execution on the host machine to invoke the vulnerable kernel function. Given that this involves kernel-mode interaction, no authentication within the user session is technically required to interact with the underlying kernel primitives if the interface is accessible to the current user context."
}