The Aquarius HelperTool (1.0.003) privileged XPC service on macOS contains multiple flaws that allow local privilege escalation. The service accepts XPC connections from any local process without validating the client's identity, and its authorization logic incorrectly calls AuthorizationCopyRights with a NULL reference, causing all authorization checks to succeed. The executeCommand:authorization:withReply: method then interpolates attacker-controlled input into NSTask and executes it with root privileges. A local attacker can exploit these weaknesses to run arbitrary commands as root, create persistent backdoors, or obtain a fully interactive root shell.
History

Thu, 04 Dec 2025 16:45:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
First Time appeared Acusticaudio
Acusticaudio aquarius Helpertool
Apple
Apple macos
Vendors & Products Acusticaudio
Acusticaudio aquarius Helpertool
Apple
Apple macos

Wed, 03 Dec 2025 17:15:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Description The Aquarius HelperTool (1.0.003) privileged XPC service on macOS contains multiple flaws that allow local privilege escalation. The service accepts XPC connections from any local process without validating the client's identity, and its authorization logic incorrectly calls AuthorizationCopyRights with a NULL reference, causing all authorization checks to succeed. The executeCommand:authorization:withReply: method then interpolates attacker-controlled input into NSTask and executes it with root privileges. A local attacker can exploit these weaknesses to run arbitrary commands as root, create persistent backdoors, or obtain a fully interactive root shell.
References

cve-icon MITRE

Status: PUBLISHED

Assigner: mitre

Published:

Updated: 2025-12-03T16:54:12.205Z

Reserved: 2025-11-18T00:00:00.000Z

Link: CVE-2025-65842

cve-icon Vulnrichment

No data.

cve-icon NVD

Status : Awaiting Analysis

Published: 2025-12-03T17:15:54.317

Modified: 2025-12-04T17:15:08.283

Link: CVE-2025-65842

cve-icon Redhat

No data.