{"id":"CVE-2026-86979","kind":"vulnerability","aliases":["CVE-2026-86979"],"related":[],"title":"Apple macOS: a privacy check flaw lets an app read sensitive user data","description":"A privacy issue was addressed with improved checks. This issue is fixed in macOS Golden Gate 27. An app may be able to access sensitive user data.","summary":"A privacy check in macOS Golden Gate 27 was missing or weak, so an app could reach sensitive user data it should not. Apple fixed it with improved checks.","severity":"medium","cvss":5.5,"epss":null,"exploited":false,"exploited_at":null,"products":[],"ecosystems":[],"tags":["apple","endpoints","infrastructure","macos"],"not_affected_if":["already-on-golden-gate-27"],"how_to_check":"- `sw_vers -productVersion` on each Mac, to see whether it runs macOS Golden Gate 27 or an earlier release\n- unknown for any further check, since the sources do not name the affected data paths","fix":"- Update macOS to the Golden Gate 27 release or later, through Software Update\n- unknown for a more specific build number, since the sources do not give one","status":"open","published_at":"2026-10-20T01:17:29+00:00","first_seen_at":"2026-10-23T21:57:19+00:00","triaged_at":"2026-10-25T04:12:32+00:00","updated_at":"2026-10-25T04:12:32+00:00","category":"infrastructure","confidence":0.5,"triage":{"at":"2026-10-25T04:12:32Z","model":"claude-haiku-5-5","output":{"fix":"- Update macOS to the Golden Gate 27 release or later, through Software Update\n- unknown for a more specific build number, since the sources do not give one","reach":"local","title":"Apple macOS: a privacy check flaw lets an app read sensitive user data","impact":"medium","summary":"A privacy check in macOS Golden Gate 27 was missing or weak, so an app could reach sensitive user data it should not. Apple fixed it with improved checks.","category":"infrastructure","nicknames":[],"who_cares":["macos","apple","endpoints"],"confidence":0.5,"needs_auth":"unknown","worst_case":"A malicious app reads sensitive user data on the Mac","analyst_note":"Check Apple's security release notes for macOS Golden Gate 27 to confirm the affected component, the build numbers and whether user interaction is needed.","how_to_check":"- `sw_vers -productVersion` on each Mac, to see whether it runs macOS Golden Gate 27 or an earlier release\n- unknown for any further check, since the sources do not name the affected data paths","needs_analyst":true,"not_affected_if":["already-on-golden-gate-27"],"who_is_affected":"Any Mac running macOS before Golden Gate 27 can be affected, since the sources describe the issue only at the OS level. Fleets of managed Macs should be updated first. Teams that only use iOS or Linux machines can skip it.","user_interaction":"unknown","needs_special_setup":"unknown","severity_if_unknown":"medium"},"cost_usd":0.000588,"input_tokens":3245,"output_tokens":526,"severity_before":"medium"},"analyst_status":null,"analyst_note":null,"search":"'-2026':15A,18A '-86979':16A,19A '27':31B,69C 'abl':74C 'access':76C 'address':57C 'app':9A,38B,71C 'appl':1A,20B,47B 'check':5A,26B,52B,60C 'could':39B 'cve':14A,17A 'data':13A,43B,79C 'endpoint':21B 'fix':48B,64C 'flaw':6A 'gate':30B,68C 'golden':29B,67C 'improv':51B,59C 'infrastructur':22B 'issu':55C,62C 'let':7A 'maco':2A,23B,28B,66C 'may':72C 'miss':33B 'privaci':4A,25B,54C 'reach':40B 'read':10A 'sensit':11A,41B,77C 'user':12A,42B,78C 'weak':35B","nicknames":[],"mitigations":[],"who_affected":"Any Mac running macOS before Golden Gate 27 can be affected, since the sources describe the issue only at the OS level. Fleets of managed Macs should be updated first. Teams that only use iOS or Linux machines can skip it.","tier":"C","verified":{},"analyst_revisit_at":null,"first_public_at":"2026-10-20T01:17:29+00:00","kev":null,"cvss_vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N","cvss_by":"134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0","poc_count":0,"sources":[{"source":"nvd","external_id":"CVE-2026-86979","url":"https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-86979","severity":null,"published_at":"2026-10-20T01:17:29+00:00","modified_at":"2026-10-20T15:03:59+00:00","first_seen_at":"2026-10-23T21:57:19+00:00","fetched_at":"2026-10-23T22:28:57+00:00","note":null}],"documents":[],"notice":"Free to read at a human pace. An API with keys and an MCP server are in preparation; early access: hello@infrastack.ai"}