CVE-2026-24066: Slate Digital Connect Privilege Escalation

CVE-2026-24066 Overview

CVE-2026-24066 is a local privilege escalation vulnerability in Slate Digital Connect 1.37.0 for macOS. The application installs a privileged helper tool named com.slatedigital.connect.privileged.helper.tool that exposes the XPC service com.slatedigital.connect.privileged.helper.tool2. The helper validates connecting XPC clients by checking only the subject.OU field of the client's code-signing certificate. It does not verify that the certificate chains to a trusted Apple code-signing authority. This weakness maps to [CWE-296: Improper Following of a Certificate's Chain of Trust].

Critical Impact
A local attacker can sign a malicious binary with a self-signed certificate containing the expected organizational unit value and obtain root-level access through the privileged helper.

Affected Products

Slate Digital Connect 1.37.0 for macOS
Privileged helper com.slatedigital.connect.privileged.helper.tool
XPC service com.slatedigital.connect.privileged.helper.tool2

Discovery Timeline

2026-06-10 - CVE-2026-24066 published to the National Vulnerability Database
2026-06-10 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2026-24066

Vulnerability Analysis

Slate Digital Connect installs a SMJobBless-style privileged helper that runs as root. The helper accepts XPC connections from client processes and exposes functions intended only for the parent application. To restrict callers, the helper inspects the signing certificate of the connecting process and compares the subject.OU value against an expected organizational unit string.

The validation logic stops at that string comparison. The helper never calls SecTrustEvaluateWithError against the Apple Root CA, nor does it pin the parent application's Team ID and designated requirement using SecCodeCheckValidity with a proper requirement string. Any certificate that carries the matching OU attribute passes the check, including self-signed certificates generated by the attacker.

Root Cause

The root cause is improper certificate validation in the XPC client authorization routine. Trust decisions rely on a single attribute extracted from the leaf certificate rather than full chain validation and code-signing requirement evaluation. A correct implementation would build a designated requirement that asserts both the certificate chain anchor and the developer Team ID, then evaluate it with SecStaticCodeCheckValidity or SecCodeCheckValidityWithErrors.

Attack Vector

Exploitation requires local access on the macOS host but no prior privileges and no user interaction. An attacker generates a self-signed code-signing certificate populated with the expected OU value, signs a malicious Mach-O binary with that certificate, and opens an XPC connection to com.slatedigital.connect.privileged.helper.tool2. The helper accepts the connection and exposes its privileged methods, which run as root. The attacker then invokes helper functions to write files, execute commands, or modify system state, achieving local privilege escalation. Technical details are documented in the SEC Consult Local Privilege Escalation Advisory and the SEC Consult Slate Report.

Detection Methods for CVE-2026-24066

Indicators of Compromise

Unexpected XPC connections to com.slatedigital.connect.privileged.helper.tool2 from processes outside the installed Slate Digital Connect application bundle.
Presence of self-signed or non-Apple-chained code-signing certificates on binaries that interact with the helper.
New root-owned files or LaunchDaemons created shortly after a process invokes the helper.

Detection Strategies

Audit /Library/PrivilegedHelperTools/ for the helper binary and monitor its child processes for unexpected spawning of shells or system utilities.
Use codesign -dvvv --requirements - on connecting client binaries to confirm they chain to the Apple Root CA and match the legitimate Slate Digital Team ID.
Alert on xpc_connection_create_mach_service activity targeting the helper service from binaries not located under /Applications/Slate Digital Connect.app/.

Monitoring Recommendations

Collect Endpoint Security Framework (ESF) events for ES_EVENT_TYPE_NOTIFY_EXEC and correlate signing identity with parent process paths.
Forward unified log entries for com.slatedigital.connect.privileged.helper.tool to a central log platform and review authorization decisions.
Track creation of new code-signing certificates in user keychains, which is uncommon on production endpoints.

How to Mitigate CVE-2026-24066

Immediate Actions Required

Inventory macOS endpoints running Slate Digital Connect 1.37.0 and prioritize them for remediation.
Remove or disable the privileged helper on systems where the application is not actively required until a patched version is deployed.
Restrict local logon and limit standard users from installing unsigned binaries on hosts that run audio production software.

Patch Information

No vendor patch was referenced in the published advisory at the time of disclosure. Monitor Slate Digital release notes and the SEC Consult advisory for an updated build that performs full code-signing requirement validation on XPC clients.

Workarounds

Unload and remove the privileged helper using launchctl bootout system /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.slatedigital.connect.privileged.helper.tool.plist and delete the binary from /Library/PrivilegedHelperTools/.
Apply application allowlisting to block execution of binaries not signed by the expected Slate Digital Team ID through a trusted Apple chain.
Enforce least privilege so that non-administrative users cannot stage attacker-controlled binaries in writable locations.

bash

# Remove the vulnerable privileged helper
sudo launchctl bootout system /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.slatedigital.connect.privileged.helper.tool.plist
sudo rm /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.slatedigital.connect.privileged.helper.tool.plist
sudo rm /Library/PrivilegedHelperTools/com.slatedigital.connect.privileged.helper.tool

# Verify removal
sudo launchctl list | grep slatedigital