Medium severity · published Jul 21, 2026
CVE-2026-47121
Sparkle: Binary delta apply intermediate-symlink traversal in malicious .delta
6.1
CVSS
0.3%
EPSS
No
On KEV
Description
Sparkle is a software update framework for macOS. Prior to version 2.9.2, `Autoupdate/SUBinaryDeltaApply.m` enforces `relativePath.pathComponents containsObject:@".."` and rejects writes whose immediate parent directory IS itself a symbolic link, but does not detect symlinks deeper in the relative path. `Autoupdate/SPUSparkleDeltaArchive.m`'s `extractItem:` will create symlinks in the destination tree from archive content (no `..` check on the symlink target), and a subsequent `Extract` item targeting `<symlink>/foo/bar` then escapes the destination tree via `fopen(path, "wb")` because the kernel resolves the intermediate symlink during the open call. This is a defense-in-depth issue: exploitation requires a maliciously-crafted `.delta` that passes EdDSA signature verification, i.e. EdDSA private-key compromise. With the AppInstaller running as root for system-domain installs, it gives the holder of a stolen signing key arbitrary file write at root level via the delta-apply path, which is a strictly broader primitive than the "drop-in replacement bundle" install they would otherwise have. Version 2.9.2 contains a patch for the issue.
CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:N/I:H/A:N
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
High
Privileges
None
User interaction
Required
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
High
Availability
None
Scope
Changed
Exploitation
Is it being used?
Exploit prediction (EPSS)0.3% · higher than 27% of CVEs
Exploited in the wildNo evidence yet
CISA KEVNot listed
Ransomware campaign useNot known
Affected products
Which versions
SP
Sparkle · sparkle-project
< 2.9.2 · source: vendor, NVD
References
NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-47121
CVE.org
https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-47121
Patch
https://github.com/sparkle-project/Sparkle/commit/fe7b718d0736f3e139e374e26fbca96f29e13bf0
Vendor Advisory
https://github.com/sparkle-project/Sparkle/security/advisories/GHSA-hg88-v3cw-3qrh
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