CVE-2025-54595 Pearcleaner's unauthenticated access to privileged XPC helper allows root command execution
An unauthenticated XPC service in Pearcleaner allows local attackers to execute arbitrary shell commands as root, enabling privilege escalation.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Any signed-in user
- Attackable
- Local or same network only
- Victim action needed
- A user has to click or open something
- Fix
- None listed
What is CVE-2025-54595?
CVE-2025-54595 is a high-severity command injection vulnerability in alienator88 Pearcleaner, published on 1 Aug 2025. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Official description
Pearcleaner is a free, source-available and fair-code licensed mac app cleaner. The PearcleanerHelper is a privileged helper tool bundled with the Pearcleaner application. It is registered and activated only after the user approves a system prompt to allow privileged operations. Upon approval, the helper is configured as a LaunchDaemon and runs with root privileges. In versions 4.4.0 through 4.5.1, the helper registers an XPC service (com.alienator88.Pearcleaner.PearcleanerHelper) and accepts unauthenticated connections from any local process. It exposes a method that executes arbitrary shell commands. This allows any local unprivileged user to escalate privileges to root once the helper is approved and active. This issue is fixed in version 4.5.2.
Which versions are affected by CVE-2025-54595?
How do I fix CVE-2025-54595?
No fix has been published for CVE-2025-54595 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.
Upgrade, and pass arguments to programs as a list instead of through a shell. More about Command injection.
Is CVE-2025-54595 being exploited?
It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2025-54595 exists.
Sources
Also known as GHSA-gr2j-65fh-8pvc.