Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2019-8526 is an Apple macOS local privilege escalation issue. A malicious or compromised application on an affected Mac may be able to gain elevated privileges. Apple addressed the use-after-free flaw with improved memory management in macOS Mojave 10.14.4.
Executive priority
Treat this as a near-term endpoint remediation issue. It is high severity, affects macOS, and appears in CISA KEV. Business urgency is highest for unmanaged, legacy, or high-privilege Mac workstations that can run untrusted applications.
Technical view
The issue is a CWE-416 use-after-free vulnerability in macOS. CVSS 3.1 is 7.8: local attack vector, low complexity, low privileges required, no user interaction, and high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact. The source bundle does not identify the vulnerable component or exact affected version range.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely on macOS systems that have not received macOS Mojave 10.14.4 or the applicable later Apple security updates. The supplied sources list Apple macOS with unspecified affected versions, so exact product coverage needs vendor confirmation.
Exploitation context
CISA KEV lists CVE-2019-8526, so known exploitation is supported by the provided government source. The available bundle does not include exploit details, exploit maturity, observed campaigns, or indicators of compromise.
Researcher notes
The public data supports a local privilege escalation caused by use-after-free memory corruption. Apple states the fix was improved memory management. The bundle does not name the affected subsystem, provide a patch matrix beyond Mojave 10.14.4, or include safe detection artifacts.
Mitigation direction
- Apply macOS Mojave 10.14.4 or later applicable Apple security updates.
- Prioritize remediation because the CVE is listed in CISA KEV.
- Inventory legacy or unmanaged macOS endpoints for missing security updates.
- Limit execution of untrusted local applications on vulnerable Macs.
- Check Apple and CISA guidance for any updated remediation instructions.
Validation and detection
- Confirm each Mac's OS version and installed Apple security updates.
- Compare macOS inventory against the fixed Mojave 10.14.4 baseline or later guidance.
- Track CVE-2019-8526 in vulnerability management and exception records.
- Review endpoint telemetry for suspicious local privilege escalation behavior.
- Verify unsupported macOS systems have a retirement or isolation plan.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CWE-416: Exact CWE lookup
Use the exact CWE identifier as the starting point before reviewing related ATT&CK behavior. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2019-8526 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- High
- CVSS
- 7.8 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- Yes
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5
These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.
CISA KEV status
CVSS vector scores
1 official scoreWe collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H1.85.9Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
7.8HighVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://support.apple.com/HT209600CVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
- https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2019-8526CVE reference · government-resource
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.
Use After Free
Use After Free represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.