Vulnerability Description
An issue was discovered in Canonical Multipass for macOS before version 1.16.3 due to an incomplete fix for CVE-2025-5199. While the patch in version 1.16.0 updated the ownership of the multipassd daemon binary to root:wheel, five co-located binaries (multipass, qemu-img, qemu-system-aarch64, qemu-system-x86_64, and sshfs_server) in /Library/Application Support/com.canonical.multipass/bin/ retain ownership by the installing user and remain writable. Because the root LaunchDaemon (com.canonical.multipassd.plist) configures a PATH environment variable that prioritizes this user-writable directory and invokes these auxiliary binaries by their bare names, a local attacker can replace an auxiliary binary (such as qemu-img) with a malicious wrapper. When the root daemon subsequently triggers the binary during routine execution (e.g., via multipass launch), the malicious code executes with root privileges, leading to local privilege escalation.
CVSS Score
HIGH
Affected Products
| Vendor | Product | Versions |
|---|---|---|
| Canonical | Multipass | < 1.16.3 |
| Apple | Macos | - |
Related Weaknesses (CWE)
References
- https://github.com/canonical/multipass/security/advisories/GHSA-r2xg-x32f-23c5ExploitThird Party Advisory
FAQ
What is CVE-2026-49237?
CVE-2026-49237 is a vulnerability with a CVSS score of 7.8 (HIGH). An issue was discovered in Canonical Multipass for macOS before version 1.16.3 due to an incomplete fix for CVE-2025-5199. While the patch in version 1.16.0 updated the ownership of the multipassd dae...
How severe is CVE-2026-49237?
CVE-2026-49237 has been rated HIGH with a CVSS base score of 7.8/10. Review the CVSS metrics above for detailed severity breakdown.
Is there a patch for CVE-2026-49237?
Check the references section above for vendor advisories and patch information. Affected products include: Canonical Multipass, Apple Macos.