CVE-2026-24063: Arturia Software Center Privilege Escalation

CVE-2026-24063 Overview

CVE-2026-24063 is a privilege escalation vulnerability affecting the Arturia Software Center on macOS. When a plugin is installed using the Arturia Software Center, it also installs an uninstall.sh bash script in a root-owned path. This script is written to disk with file permissions 777, meaning it is world-writable by any user. When uninstalling a plugin via the Arturia Software Center, the Privileged Helper gets instructed to execute this script. If an attacker manipulates the bash script contents, this scenario leads to privilege escalation, allowing arbitrary code execution with elevated privileges.

Critical Impact

Local attackers with low privileges can modify the world-writable uninstall script to execute arbitrary commands as root when the Privileged Helper runs the script during plugin uninstallation.

Affected Products

• Arturia Software Center (macOS)

Discovery Timeline

• 2026-03-18 - CVE-2026-24063 published to NVD
• 2026-03-19 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2026-24063

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability is classified as CWE-276 (Incorrect Default Permissions). The core issue lies in the insecure file permission assignment during the plugin installation process. The Arturia Software Center creates an uninstall.sh script with 777 permissions, which grants read, write, and execute access to all users on the system. This permission scheme violates the principle of least privilege, as system scripts that will be executed with elevated privileges should never be modifiable by unprivileged users.

The attack requires local access and user interaction (the victim must trigger an uninstall action), but the scope is changed, meaning the vulnerability impacts resources beyond the vulnerable component's security context. A successful exploit results in complete compromise of confidentiality, integrity, and availability at the root privilege level.

Root Cause

The root cause of this vulnerability is the incorrect default permissions assigned to the uninstall.sh bash script during plugin installation. By setting permissions to 777 (world-writable), the application allows any local user to modify the script contents. This is a critical security oversight, as scripts executed by privileged components must be protected from unauthorized modification. Proper file permissions should restrict write access to root only (e.g., 755 or 700).

Attack Vector

The attack is local in nature and follows this exploitation path:

1. A legitimate user installs a plugin using Arturia Software Center on macOS
2. The installation process creates an uninstall.sh script with 777 permissions in a root-owned directory
3. An attacker with local access to the system identifies the world-writable script
4. The attacker modifies the script to include malicious commands (e.g., creating a new admin user, installing a backdoor, or establishing persistence)
5. When any user initiates the uninstall process through the Arturia Software Center, the Privileged Helper executes the modified script with root privileges
6. The attacker's injected commands execute with full root access

The vulnerability requires user interaction to trigger the uninstall action, but once exploited, provides complete system compromise. For detailed technical analysis, see the SEC Consult Security Report.

Detection Methods for CVE-2026-24063

Indicators of Compromise

• Presence of uninstall.sh files with 777 permissions in Arturia installation directories
• Unexpected modifications to uninstall.sh scripts, especially additions of suspicious commands
• Unauthorized privileged processes spawning from the Arturia Privileged Helper
• New administrator accounts or persistence mechanisms created around plugin uninstallation times

Detection Strategies

• Monitor file permission changes on scripts within Arturia Software Center installation paths
• Implement file integrity monitoring (FIM) on all uninstall.sh scripts associated with Arturia plugins
• Audit process creation events from the Arturia Privileged Helper for unexpected child processes
• Deploy endpoint detection rules to flag world-writable scripts in system directories

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable audit logging for file modifications in /Library/Application Support/Arturia/ and related directories
• Configure alerts for privilege escalation patterns originating from Arturia components
• Monitor for unusual shell script executions following Privileged Helper invocations
• Review system logs for unexpected root-level process execution during plugin management operations

How to Mitigate CVE-2026-24063

Immediate Actions Required

• Identify all uninstall.sh scripts associated with Arturia plugins and manually correct their permissions to 755 or more restrictive
• Audit existing uninstall.sh scripts for signs of tampering before using the uninstall functionality
• Avoid using the Arturia Software Center uninstall feature until an official patch is available
• Implement application whitelisting to prevent unauthorized script modifications

Patch Information

No official patch information is currently available in the CVE data. Organizations should monitor the SEC Consult Security Report and Arturia's official channels for security updates. Contact Arturia support directly for remediation guidance and timeline information regarding this vulnerability.

Workarounds

• Manually set correct permissions on uninstall scripts: chmod 755 /path/to/uninstall.sh to remove world-writable access
• Consider manual plugin removal instead of using the Arturia Software Center uninstall feature
• Implement file integrity monitoring to detect unauthorized modifications to installation scripts
• Restrict local user access on systems where Arturia Software Center is deployed

# Remediation: Fix permissions on Arturia uninstall scripts
# Find and fix world-writable uninstall scripts
find /Library/Application\ Support/Arturia -name "uninstall.sh" -perm 777 -exec chmod 755 {} \;

# Verify permissions are corrected
find /Library/Application\ Support/Arturia -name "uninstall.sh" -exec ls -la {} \;