CVE-2026-20614
Published: 11 February 2026
Summary
CVE-2026-20614 is a high-severity Path Traversal (CWE-22) vulnerability in Apple Macos. Its CVSS base score is 7.8 (High).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploitation for Privilege Escalation (T1068); ranked at the 10.3th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
The strongest mitigations our analysis identified are NIST 800-53 SI-10 (Information Input Validation) and SI-2 (Flaw Remediation).
Threat & Defense at a Glance
Threat & Defense Details
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5)AI
Mandates identification, reporting, and correction of flaws like this path handling vulnerability through timely patching to fixed macOS versions.
Requires validation of information inputs such as paths to prevent path traversal exploits enabling privilege escalation to root.
Enforces approved access authorizations, addressing improper path validation that allows unauthorized root privilege access.
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise TechniquesAI
Why these techniques?
Local path traversal flaw directly enables privilege escalation from user to root on macOS.
NVD Description
A path handling issue was addressed with improved validation. This issue is fixed in macOS Sequoia 15.7.4, macOS Sonoma 14.8.4, macOS Tahoe 26.3. An app may be able to gain root privileges.
Deeper analysisAI
CVE-2026-20614 is a path handling vulnerability (CWE-22) in macOS that was addressed through improved validation of paths. It affects macOS Sequoia versions prior to 15.7.4, macOS Sonoma versions prior to 14.8.4, and macOS Tahoe versions prior to 26.3. The flaw enables an app to escalate privileges to root level, with a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.8 (AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H), indicating high severity due to its potential for complete system compromise.
A local attacker with low privileges, such as a standard user account, can exploit this vulnerability with low complexity and no user interaction required. Successful exploitation allows the attacker to gain root privileges, resulting in high impacts on confidentiality, integrity, and availability, potentially enabling full control over the affected system.
Apple's security advisories detail the mitigation as applying the available patches: updating to macOS Sequoia 15.7.4, macOS Sonoma 14.8.4, or macOS Tahoe 26.3, as outlined in support documents at https://support.apple.com/en-us/126348, https://support.apple.com/en-us/126349, and https://support.apple.com/en-us/126350.
Details
- CWE(s)