An issue was discovered in Malwarebytes before 4.0 on macOS.
Priority LOW 30CWE-362Published · Updated
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Local
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- High
- Impact type
- —
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- High · High · High
- Fix status
- No fix listed
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · NVD. Fix status from CNA.
Summary
An issue was discovered in Malwarebytes before 4.0 on macOS. A malicious application was able to perform a privileged action within the Malwarebytes launch daemon. The privileged service improperly validated XPC connections by relying on the PID instead of the audit token. An attacker can construct a situation where the same PID is used for running two different programs at different times, by leveraging a race condition during crafted use of posix_spawn.
Why it matters now
EPSS 0.0027 19th percentileScored 2026-11-07
Public exploit Yes 1 exploit referenceTagged by NVD
Fix No fix listed No fixed version in the sources yet
SSVC decision points
Not available: CISA has not published SSVC decision points for this record.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | — | all versions | — | No fix listed | CNA |
- — Vendor— Affected all versions Fixed in — No fix listed CNA
CPE configurations NVD · 1
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:a:malwarebytes:malwarebytes:*:*:*:*:-:macos:*:* | before 4.0 | Vulnerable | Malwarebytes |
- cpe:2.3:a:malwarebytes:malwarebytes:*:*:*:*:-:macos:*:* Versions before 4.0 Vulnerable ·Malwarebytes
Remediation
No fixed version listed by the sources yet.
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2020-25533
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-p523-j8f3-523j
References
More Malwarebytes vulnerabilities
- TI-2022-26423 Malwarebytes 4.5 Unquoted Service Path Privilege Escalation CVSS 4.0HIGH 8.5
- TI-2018-03832 In Malwarebytes Premium 3.3.1.2183, the driver file (FARFLT.SYS) allows local users to… CVSS 3.1HIGH 7.8
- TI-2018-03823 In Malwarebytes Premium 3.3.1.2183, the driver file (FARFLT.SYS) allows local users to… CVSS 3.1HIGH 7.8
- TI-2018-03831 In Malwarebytes Premium 3.3.1.2183, the driver file (FARFLT.SYS) allows local users to… CVSS 3.1LOW 3.3
- TI-2023-11316 In Malwarebytes before 4.5.23, a symbolic link may be used delete any arbitrary file on… CVSS 3.1HIGH 7.8
- TI-2023-13578 The Malwarebytes EDR 1.0.11 for Linux driver doesn't properly ensure whitelisting of… CVSS 3.1HIGH 7.8
Sources
- CVE-2020-25533 · CVE Program
- CVE-2020-25533 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-p523-j8f3-523j · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences