CVE-2017-15357

HIGH

Arq < 5.9.7 - Local Privilege Escalation via Symlink Attack on Updater Binary

Title source: llm
STIX 2.1

Exploitation Summary

EIP tracks 1 public exploit for CVE-2017-15357. PoCs published by Mark Wadham.

AI-analyzed exploit summary This exploit leverages a race condition in the Arq updater binary to escalate privileges to root by manipulating symlinks and setting SUID bits on arbitrary binaries. It compiles a custom binary to spawn a root shell after exploiting the vulnerability.

Description

The setpermissions function in the auto-updater in Arq before 5.9.7 for Mac allows local users to gain root privileges via a symlink attack on the updater binary itself.

Exploits (1)

exploitdb WORKING POC VERIFIED
by Mark Wadham · bashlocalmacos
https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/43218

This exploit leverages a race condition in the Arq updater binary to escalate privileges to root by manipulating symlinks and setting SUID bits on arbitrary binaries. It compiles a custom binary to spawn a root shell after exploiting the vulnerability.

Classification
Working Poc 95%
Attack Type
Lpe
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Racy
Target: Arq Backup < 5.9.7
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Arq Backup installed with auto-updates enabled · Local access to the system
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 16, 2026 Full analysis →

References (3)

Core 3
Core References
Exploit, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry exploit x_refsource_exploit-db
https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/43218/
Release Notes, Vendor Advisory x_refsource_confirm
https://www.arqbackup.com/download/arq5_release_notes.html

Scores

CVSS v3 7.4
EPSS 0.0115
EPSS Percentile 62.9%
Attack Vector LOCAL
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Details

CWE
CWE-362 CWE-59
Status published
Products (1)
arqbackup/arq < 5.9.7
Published Dec 01, 2017
Tracked Since Feb 18, 2026