CVE-2025-21606

Description

stats is a macOS system monitor in for the menu bar. The Stats application is vulnerable to a local privilege escalation due to the insecure implementation of its XPC service. The application registers a Mach service under the name `eu.exelban.Stats.SMC.Helper`. The associated binary, eu.exelban.Stats.SMC.Helper, is a privileged helper tool designed to execute actions requiring elevated privileges on behalf of the client, such as setting fan modes, adjusting fan speeds, and executing the `powermetrics` command. The root cause of this vulnerability lies in the `shouldAcceptNewConnection` method, which unconditionally returns YES (or true), allowing any XPC client to connect to the service without any form of verification. As a result, unauthorized clients can establish a connection to the Mach service and invoke methods exposed by the HelperTool interface. An attacker can exploit this vulnerability to modify the hardware settings of the user’s device and execute arbitrary code with root privileges. This issue has been addressed in version 2.11.21 and all users are advised to upgrade. There are no known workarounds for this vulnerability.

Weakness Type (CWE)

CWE-345 CWE-345

References

Other References

https://github.com/exelban/stats/commit/c10759f7a186efdd82ddd818dae2ac1f853691fc https://github.com/exelban/stats/security/advisories/GHSA-qwhf-px96-7f6v

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2025-21606? +

stats is a macOS system monitor in for the menu bar. The Stats application is vulnerable to a local privilege escalation due to the insecure implementation of its XPC service. The application registers a Mach service under the name `eu.exelban.Stats.SMC.Helper`. The associated binary, eu.exelban.Stats.SMC.Helper, is a privileged helper tool designed to execute actions requiring elevated privileges on behalf of the client, such as setting fan modes, adjusting fan speeds, and executing the `powermetrics` command. The root cause of this vulnerability lies in the `shouldAcceptNewConnection` method, which unconditionally returns YES (or true), allowing any XPC client to connect to the service without any form of verification. As a result, unauthorized clients can establish a connection to the Mach service and invoke methods exposed by the HelperTool interface. An attacker can exploit this vulnerability to modify the hardware settings of the user’s device and execute arbitrary code with root privileges. This issue has been addressed in version 2.11.21 and all users are advised to upgrade. There are no known workarounds for this vulnerability.

How do I check if I'm vulnerable to CVE-2025-21606? +

You can use Secably's free Website Scanner to check your website for known vulnerabilities. For infrastructure scanning, use the Port Scanner to identify exposed services that may be affected. Check the vendor advisories linked above for specific patch and version information.

Related Vulnerabilities

CVE-2026-42206

Roadiz is a polymorphic content management system based on a node system. Prior to versions 2.3.43, 2.5.45, 2.6.31, and 2.7.18, …

CVE-2026-47202

Kavita is a cross platform reading server. Prior to 0.9.0.2, an Improper Token validation flaw permits a remote and unauthenticated …

CVE-2026-45022

go-git is an extensible git implementation library written in pure Go. Prior to 5.19.0 and 6.0.0-alpha.3, go-git may parse malformed …

CVE-2025-25188

Hickory DNS is a Rust based DNS client, server, and resolver. A vulnerability present starting in version 0.8.0 and prior …

CVE-2025-52484

RISC Zero is a general computing platform based on zk-STARKs and the RISC-V microarchitecture. Due to a missing constraint in …

CVE-2025-59160

Matrix JavaScript SDK is a Matrix Client-Server SDK for JavaScript and TypeScript. matrix-js-sdk before 38.2.0 has insufficient validation of room …