Microsoft Security Update Guide · Defender
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint for Mac Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability
Published
What does this mean?
- Elevation of Privilege. An attacker can gain more rights than they should have, for example admin rights.
- It can be exploited with access to the device itself, with an ordinary user account and without any user action.
- CVSS 5.5 out of 10: medium. Microsoft rates it Important.
- No attacks reported; Microsoft expects exploitation to be less likely.
- What should you do? Install the security update for the version you run (or a later cumulative update):
- Microsoft Defender for Endpoint for Mac: KBRelease Notes
101.26042.0020
- Microsoft Defender for Endpoint for Mac: KBRelease Notes
Time-of-check time-of-use (toctou) race condition in Microsoft Defender for Endpoint allows an authorized attacker to elevate privileges locally.
Key facts
Released
14 jul 2026
Impact
Elevation of Privilege
Max severity
Important
Weakness
CVSS 3.1
5.5 / 4.8 (base / temporal)
Vector string
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N/E:U/RL:O/RC:CPublicly disclosed
No
Exploited
No
Exploitability assessment
Exploitation Less Likely
Customer action required
Yes
Links
CVSS metrics
| Base score metrics | |
|---|---|
| Attack Vector | Local |
| Attack Complexity | Low |
| Privileges Required | Low |
| User Interaction | None |
| Scope | Unchanged |
| Confidentiality | None |
| Integrity | High |
| Availability | None |
| Temporal score metrics | |
| Exploit Code Maturity | Unproven |
| Remediation Level | Official Fix |
| Report Confidence | Confirmed |
Affected products and updates
| Product | Update | Build |
|---|---|---|
| Microsoft Defender for Endpoint for Mac | KBRelease Notes · Security Update | 101.26042.0020 |
Revisions
| Version | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 14 jul 2026 | Information published. |
What changed in Microsoft 365 this week? →
View at Microsoft → ← All security advisories
Source: Microsoft Security Update Guide. 365Fanatic is not affiliated with Microsoft.