CVE-2026-12374 Improper XPC caller certificate validation and TOCTOU race condition in macOS PrivilegedHelperTool
A local attacker can escalate privileges to root by bypassing XPC certificate validation and exploiting a TOCTOU race condition during package installation.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Any signed-in user
- Attackable
- Local or same network only
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- None listed
What is CVE-2026-12374?
CVE-2026-12374 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Cato Networks SDP Client, published on 1 Jul 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Official description
Improper certificate validation and a time-of-check time-of-use (TOCTOU) race condition in the PrivilegedHelperTool XPC service in Cato Client before v.5.13.1 on macOS allows a local authenticated attacker to escalate privileges to root via a self-signed certificate that bypasses the XPC caller verification and a symlink swap during package installation.
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-12374?
How do I fix CVE-2026-12374?
No fix has been published for CVE-2026-12374 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.
Is CVE-2026-12374 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-12374 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Sources
Also known as GHSA-fmmf-42mh-hr4x.