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6.6
CVE-2025-8597: MacVim allows local attacker to debug and modify memory
CVE-2025-8597 · published 1 year ago
Summary
MacVim on macOS includes a setting that lets a program attach a debugger to it without asking for administrator approval. This means a malicious app running on the same computer could read or change MacVim's memory and potentially bypass some security prompts. Updating MacVim to the latest build (r181.2 or newer) removes the risky setting and resolves the issue.
Original advisory text
Privilege Escalation via get-task-allow entitlement in MacVim.app
MacVim's configuration on macOS, specifically the presence of entitlement "com.apple.security.get-task-allow", allows local attackers with unprivileged access (e.g. via a malicious application) to attach a debugger, read or modify the process memory, inject code in the application's context despite being signed with Hardened Runtime and bypass Transparency, Consent, and Control (TCC). Acquired resource access is limited to previously granted permissions by the user. Access to other resources beyond granted permissions requires user interaction with a system prompt asking for permission.
According to Apple documentation, when a non-root user runs an app with the debugging tool entitlement, the system presents an authorization dialog asking for a system administrator's credentials. Since there is no prompt when the target process has "get-task-allow" entitlement, the presence of this entitlement was decided to be treated as a vulnerability because it removes one step needed to perform an attack.
This issue was fixed in build r181.2
According to Apple documentation, when a non-root user runs an app with the debugging tool entitlement, the system presents an authorization dialog asking for a system administrator's credentials. Since there is no prompt when the target process has "get-task-allow" entitlement, the presence of this entitlement was decided to be treated as a vulnerability because it removes one step needed to perform an attack.
This issue was fixed in build r181.2
References
- https://cert.pl/en/posts/2025/08/tcc-bypass/ Vendor Advisory
- https://github.com/macvim-dev/macvim/pull/1585 Third Party Advisory
- https://github.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/tree/main/cves/2025/8xxx/CVE-2025-8597.j... Vendor Advisory
- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-8597 Vendor Advisory
- https://github.com/macvim-dev/macvim Product
Internet-facing
60 days
Internal
At next upgrade
- Not known to be exploited
- Needs hands-on effort to exploit
- Gives an attacker partial control
Severity
6.6
Medium
Type
CWE-497Exposure of Sensitive System Information to an Unauthorized Control Sphere
Timeline
Published26 Aug 2025
Updated26 Oct 2026
First seen7 Mar 2026
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