CVE-2006-4392

Severity: high (CVSS 7.2 v2.0)
Exploited in the wild: not listed in CISA KEV
EPSS: 1.6% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
Public exploit or detection template: yes
Published: 2006-10-03 · updated 2026-06-16

Description

The Mach kernel, as used in operating systems including (1) Mac OS X 10.4 through 10.4.7 and (2) OpenStep before 4.2, allows local users to gain privileges via a parent process that forces an exception in a setuid child and uses Mach exception ports to modify the child's thread context and task address space in a way that causes the child to call a parent-controlled function.

Affected products

macOS: 10.4, 10.4.1, 10.4.2, 10.4.3, 10.4.4, 10.4.5 (+2)
Next Openstep: 4.1

References

http://lists.apple.com/archives/security-announce/2006/Sep/msg00002.html
http://secunia.com/advisories/22187
http://securityreason.com/securityalert/1663
http://securitytracker.com/id?1016954
http://www.kb.cert.org/vuls/id/838404
http://www.matasano.com/log/530/matasano-advisory-macos-x-mach-exception-server-privilege-escalation/
http://www.osvdb.org/29269
http://www.securityfocus.com/archive/1/447396/100/0/threaded
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/20271
http://www.us-cert.gov/cas/techalerts/TA06-275A.html
http://www.vupen.com/english/advisories/2006/3852
https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/29281

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