Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
A malicious macOS app may escape its sandbox, bypassing restrictions designed to contain it. That could increase the app’s ability to affect sensitive data or the system. Apple addressed the path-handling weakness through improved validation in specified Sequoia and Tahoe updates.
Executive priority
Treat remediation as urgent because the supplied severity is critical, CVSS is 9.8, and successful abuse could defeat application isolation. Accelerate updates on higher-risk Macs, while avoiding claims of an active campaign because none is supported by the supplied evidence.
Technical view
CVE-2026-64731 is a CWE-22 path-handling weakness that may permit sandbox escape by a malicious application. Apple identifies fixes in macOS Sequoia 15.7.8 and macOS Tahoe 26.6. The supplied sources provide no affected component, root-cause detail, indicators, or complete vulnerable-version range.
Likely exposure
Sequoia systems not updated to 15.7.8 and Tahoe systems not updated to 26.6 should be treated as potentially exposed. Exact affected version boundaries are absent, so exposure for other macOS releases cannot be determined from the supplied evidence.
Exploitation context
The CVE is not listed as KEV, and the supplied sources provide no evidence of active exploitation or public exploit availability. The stated scenario requires a malicious app, but installation, execution, and sandbox prerequisites are not further described.
Researcher notes
Apple attributes the issue to path handling corrected through improved validation and maps it to CWE-22. The supplied CVSS vector indicates network access without privileges or interaction, while the description identifies a malicious app; the sources do not reconcile this apparent discrepancy or disclose enough detail for independent exploitability assessment.
Mitigation direction
- Update macOS Sequoia to 15.7.8 and macOS Tahoe to 26.6 using Apple-supported processes.
- Prioritize Macs permitted to install or execute untrusted third-party applications.
- Consult Apple guidance for other macOS branches or devices not eligible for the named releases.
Validation and detection
- Inventory macOS editions and versions across all managed endpoints.
- Verify Sequoia endpoints run 15.7.8 or newer and Tahoe endpoints run 26.6 or newer.
- Recheck Apple advisories for applicable build details and any subsequently clarified affected versions.
- Document systems unable to receive the fixed releases and track their vendor-supported remediation status.
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-22: File access and web shell behavior lookup
File traversal and upload weaknesses can lead teams to review file, web shell, execution, and collection telemetry. 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-2026-64731 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
- Critical
- CVSS
- 9.8 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/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.
SSVC decision data
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:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H3.95.9CISA-ADPVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
9.8CriticalVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Vulnerability timeline
Timeline events are normalized from CVE metadata, CNA source timelines, ADP timelines, and KEV metadata when present.
- CVE reservedCVE Program
The CVE ID was reserved by the assigning CNA.
- CVE publishedCVE Program
The CVE record was published.
- CVE updatedCVE Program
The CVE record metadata indicates this as the latest update time.
ADP provider summaries
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://support.apple.com/en-us/128067CVE reference, apple
- https://support.apple.com/en-us/128071CVE reference, apple
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.
Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal')
Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal') represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.