CVE-2026-22926: Workspace ONE Assist Privilege Escalation

CVE-2026-22926 Overview

CVE-2026-22926 is a local privilege escalation vulnerability in Omnissa Workspace ONE® Assist for macOS. The flaw is categorized under [CWE-22] (Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory, also known as Path Traversal). An authenticated local attacker with low privileges can exploit weaknesses in path handling to elevate privileges on an affected macOS endpoint.

The vulnerability impacts confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the host. Because Workspace ONE® Assist runs with elevated rights to support remote management tasks, successful exploitation lets an attacker execute actions in a higher privilege context.

Critical Impact
A local low-privileged user can escalate to elevated privileges on macOS endpoints running Workspace ONE® Assist, gaining full control of the device.

Affected Products

Omnissa Workspace ONE® Assist for macOS
Endpoints managed by Workspace ONE with the Assist agent installed
macOS systems referenced in Omnissa Advisory OMSA-2026-0001

Discovery Timeline

2026-06-09 - CVE-2026-22926 published to the National Vulnerability Database (NVD)
2026-06-09 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2026-22926

Vulnerability Analysis

The vulnerability is a path traversal issue in Workspace ONE® Assist for macOS. The Assist agent runs as a privileged service to perform remote support actions, including file transfer and remote command execution. Improper validation of file paths allows a local attacker to escape the intended directory and interact with files outside the agent's restricted scope.

Exploitation requires local access and low-privileged authentication on the macOS host. No user interaction is required. The attack does not cross a security boundary at the network layer, but the privilege boundary between a standard user and the elevated Assist service is broken.

Root Cause

The root cause is [CWE-22]: the agent constructs file or resource paths from input that is not sufficiently sanitized. Sequences such as ../ or absolute path overrides allow references to resources outside the intended directory. Because the agent executes these operations as a privileged process, the attacker inherits that privilege when the operation completes.

Attack Vector

An attacker authenticated as a standard local user on the macOS host invokes a function exposed by the Assist agent that consumes a path argument. By crafting a traversal payload, the attacker directs the privileged service to read, write, or execute files in protected locations. The result is privilege escalation to the context of the Assist service.

No public proof-of-concept is referenced in the advisory. Refer to the Omnissa Security Response page for technical detail.

Detection Methods for CVE-2026-22926

Indicators of Compromise

Unexpected file creation or modification under macOS system directories owned by root while the Assist agent is running.
Workspace ONE® Assist process activity that includes path arguments containing ../ traversal sequences or absolute paths to sensitive locations.
New launch daemons, login items, or privileged binaries written shortly after Assist agent activity.
Local user accounts performing privileged actions immediately after interacting with the Assist agent.

Detection Strategies

Monitor child processes spawned by the Workspace ONE® Assist service for shells, scripting interpreters, or persistence utilities.
Hunt for file write events to /Library/LaunchDaemons/, /usr/local/bin/, and other privileged paths originating from the Assist agent.
Correlate Endpoint Security Framework (ESF) telemetry on AUTH_OPEN, NOTIFY_RENAME, and NOTIFY_EXEC events tied to the agent's process tree.
Behavioral AI engines such as those in Singularity Endpoint can flag privilege escalation chains where a low-privileged user triggers a privileged service to execute unexpected operations.

Monitoring Recommendations

Centralize macOS endpoint telemetry into a SIEM or data lake such as Singularity Data Lake for cross-host correlation.
Alert on any file path argument to the Assist agent that contains traversal characters or references protected directories.
Track installation, update, and version state of the Workspace ONE® Assist agent across the fleet.

How to Mitigate CVE-2026-22926

Immediate Actions Required

Inventory all macOS endpoints running Omnissa Workspace ONE® Assist and identify the installed version.
Apply the vendor update referenced in Omnissa Advisory OMSA-2026-0001 as soon as it is available in your environment.
Restrict local interactive access on macOS endpoints to trusted users only, since exploitation requires local authentication.
Review recent Assist agent activity for evidence of path traversal attempts on high-value systems.

Patch Information

Omnissa has published guidance under Omnissa Advisory OMSA-2026-0001. Refer to the advisory and the Omnissa Security Response portal for the fixed version of Workspace ONE® Assist for macOS and upgrade instructions. The NVD entry does not list specific affected version ranges; rely on the vendor advisory for authoritative version data.

Workarounds

Limit local logon rights and reduce the number of standard users on managed macOS endpoints until the patch is applied.
Disable or uninstall the Workspace ONE® Assist agent on macOS hosts that do not require remote support.
Enforce macOS System Integrity Protection (SIP) and ensure no exclusions are configured for the Assist agent.
Apply endpoint protection policies that block unauthorized privileged file writes by user-context processes.

bash

# Verify Workspace ONE Assist installation and version on macOS
sudo pkgutil --pkgs | grep -i omnissa
sudo pkgutil --pkg-info com.omnissa.workspaceone.assist

# List launch daemons related to the Assist agent
sudo launchctl list | grep -i assist

# Audit recent file changes under privileged directories
sudo find /Library/LaunchDaemons /usr/local/bin -type f -mtime -7 -ls