Vulnerability Monitor

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CVE-2006-4392

The Mach kernel, as used in operating systems including (1) Mac OS X 10.4 through 10.4.7 and (2) OpenStep before 4.2, allows local users to gain privileges via a parent process that forces an exception in a setuid child and uses Mach exception ports to modify the child's thread context and task address space in a way that causes the child to call a parent-controlled function.

Security Impact Summary

CVE-2006-4392 is a security vulnerability that . Impacting 2 products from apple, from next organizations running these solutions should prioritize assessment and patching.

Historical Context

Originally identified in 2006, this vulnerability predates many modern security frameworks and practices. The vulnerability landscape of that era was characterized by different threat models and less mature defense mechanisms compared to contemporary standards.

Published

2006-10-03T04:02:00.000

Last Modified

2026-04-23T00:35:47.467

Status

Modified

Source

[email protected]

Severity

CVSSv2: 7.2 (HIGH)

CVSSv2 Vector

AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C

Access Vector: LOCAL
Access Complexity: LOW
Authentication: NONE
Confidentiality Impact: COMPLETE
Integrity Impact: COMPLETE
Availability Impact: COMPLETE

Exploitability Score

3.9

Impact Score

10.0

Weaknesses

Type: Primary
NVD-CWE-Other

Affected Vendors & Products

Type	Vendor	Product	Version/Range	Vulnerable?
Operating System	apple	mac_os_x	10.4	Yes
Operating System	apple	mac_os_x	10.4.1	Yes
Operating System	apple	mac_os_x	10.4.2	Yes
Operating System	apple	mac_os_x	10.4.3	Yes
Operating System	apple	mac_os_x	10.4.4	Yes
Operating System	apple	mac_os_x	10.4.5	Yes
Operating System	apple	mac_os_x	10.4.6	Yes
Operating System	apple	mac_os_x	10.4.7	Yes
Operating System	next	openstep	4.1	Yes

References

http://lists.apple.com/archives/security-announce/2006/Sep/msg00002.html Patch ([email protected])
http://secunia.com/advisories/22187 Patch, Vendor Advisory ([email protected])
http://securityreason.com/securityalert/1663 ([email protected])
http://securitytracker.com/id?1016954 ([email protected])
http://www.kb.cert.org/vuls/id/838404 US Government Resource ([email protected])
http://www.matasano.com/log/530/matasano-advisory-macos-x-mach-exception-server-privilege-escalation/ Vendor Advisory ([email protected])
http://www.osvdb.org/29269 ([email protected])
http://www.securityfocus.com/archive/1/447396/100/0/threaded ([email protected])
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/20271 Patch ([email protected])
http://www.us-cert.gov/cas/techalerts/TA06-275A.html US Government Resource ([email protected])
http://www.vupen.com/english/advisories/2006/3852 ([email protected])
https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/29281 ([email protected])
http://lists.apple.com/archives/security-announce/2006/Sep/msg00002.html Patch (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://secunia.com/advisories/22187 Patch, Vendor Advisory (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://securityreason.com/securityalert/1663 (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://securitytracker.com/id?1016954 (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://www.kb.cert.org/vuls/id/838404 US Government Resource (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://www.matasano.com/log/530/matasano-advisory-macos-x-mach-exception-server-privilege-escalation/ Vendor Advisory (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://www.osvdb.org/29269 (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://www.securityfocus.com/archive/1/447396/100/0/threaded (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/20271 Patch (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://www.us-cert.gov/cas/techalerts/TA06-275A.html US Government Resource (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://www.vupen.com/english/advisories/2006/3852 (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/29281 (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)

How SecUtils Interprets This CVE

SecUtils normalizes and enriches National Vulnerability Database (NVD) records by standardizing vendor and product identifiers, aggregating vulnerability metadata from both NVD and MITRE sources, and providing structured context for security teams. For apple's affected products, we extract Common Platform Enumeration (CPE) data, Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) classifications, CVSS severity metrics, and reference data to enable rapid vulnerability prioritization and asset correlation. This record contains no exploit code, proof-of-concept instructions, or attack methodologies—only defensive intelligence necessary for patch management, risk assessment, and security operations.