
BuhoNTFS 1.3.2 - Local Privilege Escalation
Discovered by
Offensive Team, Fluid Attacks
Summary
Full name
BuhoNTFS 1.3.2 - Local Privilege Escalation via Unauthenticated XPC Service
Code name
State
Public
Release date
Dec 12, 2025
Affected product
BuhoNTFS
Vendor
Dr.Buho
Affected version(s)
1.3.2
Vulnerability name
Privilege escalation
Vulnerability type
Remotely exploitable
No
CVSS v4.0 vector string
CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:N/VI:H/VA:N/SC:H/SI:H/SA:H
CVSS v4.0 base score
8.4
Exploit available
Yes
CVE ID(s)
Description
BuhoNTFS for macOS contains an insecure XPC service that allows local, unprivileged users to escalate their privileges to root. The vulnerability stems from the privileged helper tool com.drbuho.disktool.NTFSHelperTool, which exposes multiple dangerous methods without any authentication or authorization checks.
The XPC service accepts connections from any local process and allows them to:
Create directories with root privileges.
Execute arbitrary binaries as root via setFSExecPath:.
Install kernel extensions.
Mount NTFS volumes at arbitrary locations.
Access sensitive system information.
The vulnerability is caused by two critical flaws:
NTFSListenerDelegate::listener:shouldAcceptNewConnection: accepts all XPC connections without validation.
NTFSHelperConnectionValidator::isValidConnection: always returns true without performing any security checks.
Vulnerability
The core of the vulnerability lies in the XPC service implementation that fails to validate connecting clients. The helper tool runs as root and exposes the following dangerous methods:
makeDir:completion: - Creates directories with root privileges.
setFSExecPath: - Sets the path to the executable that will run as root.
installKM:completion: - Installs kernel extensions.
mountReadWriteNTFSVolumeWithMountPoint:bsdName:isKMount:completion: - Mounts volumes with arbitrary permissions.
The function listener:shouldAcceptNewConnection calls NTFSHelperConnectionValidator::isValidConnection, which always returns true.
Exploitation Flow
Create a malicious script in /tmp.
Call setFSExecPath with the path to the malicious script.
Trigger execution via mountReadWriteNTFSVolumeWithMountPoint:bsdName:isKMount:completion:
Script executes with root privileges.
PoC
Evidence of Exploitation
Poc
File generated as root

Our security policy
We have reserved the ID CVE-2025-13733 to refer to this issue from now on.
System Information
BuhoNTFS
Version 1.3.2 (36)
Operating System: MacOs
References
Product: https://www.drbuho.com/
Contact: https://www.drbuho.com/support
Mitigation
There is currently no patch available for this vulnerability.
Credits
The vulnerability was discovered by Oscar Uribe from Fluid Attacks' Offensive Team.
Timeline
Nov 24, 2025
Vulnerability discovered
Dec 1, 2025
Vendor contacted
Dec 12, 2025
Public disclosure
Does your application use this vulnerable software?
During our free trial, our tools assess your application, identify vulnerabilities, and provide recommendations for their remediation.





