Description
The Aquarius HelperTool (1.0.003) privileged XPC service on macOS contains multiple flaws that allow local privilege escalation. The service accepts XPC connections from any local process without validating the client's identity, and its authorization logic incorrectly calls AuthorizationCopyRights with a NULL reference, causing all authorization checks to succeed. The executeCommand:authorization:withReply: method then interpolates attacker-controlled input into NSTask and executes it with root privileges. A local attacker can exploit these weaknesses to run arbitrary commands as root, create persistent backdoors, or obtain a fully interactive root shell.
Scores
CVSS v3
5.1
EPSS
0.0003
EPSS Percentile
7.4%
Attack Vector
LOCAL
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N
CISA SSVC
Vulnrichment
Exploitation
poc
Automatable
no
Technical Impact
total
Details
CWE
CWE-266
Status
published
Products (1)
acustica-audio/aquarius_helpertool
1.0.003
Published
Dec 03, 2025
Tracked Since
Feb 18, 2026