Waves Central local privilege escalation via Improper XPC Client Authentication in macOS (CVE-2026-86819) | HOL Guard CVE

Unknown severity · Source severity not reportedCVE-2026-86819

Waves Central local privilege escalation via Improper XPC Client Authentication in macOS

Answer in brief

CVE-2026-86819 records a Unknown severity vulnerability in Waves Central local privilege escalation via Improper XPC Client Authentication in macOS. The current sources do not mark it as known exploited. The current feed maps Waves Audio Ltd./Waves Central (generic). Check affected ranges and fixed versions before updating.

Analysis pending evidence review

HOL Guard separates source facts from reviewed analysis. See the methodology.

Published Sep 8, 2026Updated Sep 8, 2026Source checked Sep 8, 2026First seen by HOL Sep 8, 2026Material review Sep 8, 2026

Upstream Advisory

Key facts

Risk: Unknown severitySource severity not reported
Exploitation: Not marked as known exploited
Affected software: 1 mapped package or product
Fix availability: Available

Why this deserves its current priority

A CVSS score is not reported in the current record. The current sources do not mark it as known exploited. Treat this as a source-backed prioritization signal, not a statement about your environment.

Analysis status

Analysis pending evidence review

Factual feed record only; HOL analysis is not approved for indexing. Read the methodology.

Affected scope and exposure questions

The current feed maps Waves Audio Ltd./Waves Central (generic). Check affected ranges and fixed versions before updating.

Mapped affected packages and fixed versions
Package	Affected range	Fixed version
Waves Audio Ltd./Waves Centralgeneric	>=16.6.2 <17.0	17.0

Recommended response

Check inventory. Check lockfiles and deployed manifests for Waves Audio Ltd./Waves Central.
Review the reported fix. Update Waves Audio Ltd./Waves Central to 17.0 if you use the affected versions. Test the change in a non-production environment first.

Evidence timeline and material changes

Published upstream
Sep 8, 2026
Evidence: source:cvelist:source_dates:source-dates:record
Source modified
Sep 8, 2026
Evidence: source:cvelist:source_dates:source-dates:record
First seen by HOL
Sep 8, 2026

Sources and claim methodology

Upstream source description

Waves Central for macOS contains a local privilege escalation in the privileged helper service. The helper authorizes connecting XPC clients by comparing the caller's code-signing certificate chain for equality with its own, rather than validating the caller against a pinned code requirement (application identifier and Team ID). A local, authenticated user can execute code within the vendor-signed process, satisfy the helper's client check, and cause the helper to execute a script with root privileges. Fixed in 17.0.

Quoted source text, attributed separately from HOL analysis.