Vulnerability · CVE-2026-49237
An issue was discovered in Canonical Multipass for macOS before version 1.16.3 due to an incomplete fix for CVE-2025-5199.
Published May 28, 2026 · catalog updated Oct 14, 2026 · An issue was discovered
Check if you run it
No confirmed exploitation is on record for CVE-2026-49237. EPSS is 0.16%. Act only if a listed version of An issue was discovered is installed.
Gaps on this record
- The stored product name is a package slug. The name on this page is taken from the title (An issue was discovered).
- No version range is stored. A customer cannot check an installed version against this record.
- No vendor fix or required action is stored. Compare the linked advisory before you change production.
- Severity
- High7.8
- Known exploitation
- Not in CISA/VulnCheck KEV
- EPSS
- 0.16%
- Remediation
- Advisory link
- Affected products
- cpe canonical/multipass
An issue was discovered in Canonical Multipass for macOS before version 1.16.3 due to an incomplete fix for CVE-2025-5199. While the patch in version 1.16.0 updated the ownership of the multipassd daemon binary to root:wheel, five co-located binaries (multipass, qemu-img, qemu-system-aarch64, qemu-system-x86_64, and sshfs_server) in /Library/Application Support/com.canonical.multipass/bin/ retain ownership by the installing user and remain writable. Because the root LaunchDaemon (com.canonical.multipassd.plist) configures a PATH environment variable that prioritizes this user-writable directory and invokes these auxiliary binaries by their bare names, a local attacker can replace an auxiliary binary (such as qemu-img) with a malicious wrapper. When the root daemon subsequently triggers the binary during routine execution (e.g., via multipass launch), the malicious code executes with root privileges, leading to local privilege escalation.
Are you affected?
Enter the version you run. The result uses only the ranges stored on this record.
The check returns affected, not affected, or incomplete. It does not guess a version that is missing from the record.
- cpe canonical/multipassversion unspecified
How to fix CVE-2026-49237
Recommended remediation
A patch or advisory reference is linked. Open the original publisher for availability by product version.
Official advisories
What to do
Three questions, each answered from this record only. Confirm the vendor advisory before you patch.
Should you patch?
No confirmed exploitation is on record for CVE-2026-49237. EPSS is 0.16%. Act only if a listed version of An issue was discovered is installed.
Which versions are affected?
Affected version ranges are not on this record. Compare the installed version with the linked vendor advisory before you change production.
What should an analyst verify?
CWE-276: Incorrect Default Permissions. EPSS 0.16%. There is no CISA KEV listing. No Exploit-DB or Metasploit reference is linked. Use the source links for the original advisory.
Technology hubs
Code
The project this record applies to. Exploit listings stay in References.
No public source repository is identified for this product.
Timeline
Detection, updates, and resolution for this record.
May 28, 2026 · NIST NVD
Detected
An issue was discovered in Canonical Multipass for macOS before version 1.16.3 due to an incomplete fix for CVE-2025-5199. While the patch in version 1.16.0 updated the ownership of the multipassd daemon binary to root:wheel, five co-located binaries (multipass, qemu-img, qemu-system-aarch64, qemu-system-x86_64, and sshfs_server) in /Library/Application Support/com.canonical.multipass/bin/ retain
Oct 14, 2026 · NIST NVD
Updated
An issue was discovered in Canonical Multipass for macOS before version 1.16.3 due to an incomplete fix for CVE-2025-5199. While the patch in version 1.16.0 updated the ownership of the multipassd daemon binary to root:wheel, five co-located binaries (multipass, qemu-img, qemu-system-aarch64, qemu-system-x86_64, and sshfs_server) in /Library/Application Support/com.canonical.multipass/bin/ retain
Sources
- CVE.orgVulnerability recordCVE-2026-49237
Official CVE identifier
cve.org - FIRST EPSSExploitation probabilityCVE-2026-49237
30-day exploitation probability 0.2%
first.org - NIST NVDVulnerability recordCVE-2026-49237
An issue was discovered in Canonical Multipass for macOS before version 1.16.3 due to an incomplete fix for CVE-2025-5199. While the patch in version 1.16.0 updated the ownership of the multipassd daemon binary to root:wheel, five co-located binaries (multipass, qemu-img, qemu-sy
nvd.nist.gov
References
Freshness
Last verified in this catalog Oct 18, 2026. Significant claims (KEV, EPSS, CVSS, affected ranges) come from the source rows above — open the original publisher for the authoritative advisory.