actual Allows Electron to Run As Node

CVE-2026-42890 → View on GitHub ↗ View on CVE.org ↗ View on NVD ↗

Description

Summary

A electron run as node vulnerability was identified in actual (macOS application, version 25.x (Electron 39.2.7)).

Vulnerability Type: Electron Run As Node

Description

ELECTRON_RUN_AS_NODE fuse enabled (Electron 39.2.7) — app can be converted to Node.js REPL for arbitrary code execution

Impact

An attacker who can place a file on disk or control command-line arguments can invoke the signed Actual.app binary with ELECTRON_RUN_AS_NODE=1 to execute arbitrary Node.js code inheriting the apps entitlements and code signature. This bypasses macOS Gatekeeper review of the payload: the Node.js script runs as Actual, under Actuals bundle ID and signed identity, and has access to any entitlements the app carries (network, file access, keychain, automation). Combined with any downloader (browser, mail attachment, Slack link) this becomes a signed-binary-abuse primitive on every Mac with Actual installed.

Basic information

Type
reviewed
Severity
medium
Advisory on GitHub
Open advisory ↗
Repository advisory
Open repository advisory ↗
Source code
Browse source ↗
Published (advisory)
2026-06-08 18:21:26 UTC
Updated
2026-06-12 21:59:55 UTC
GitHub reviewed
2026-06-08 18:21:26 UTC
NVD published
2026-06-12

EPSS Score

Score Percentile
0.02% 6.46%

CVSS Scores

Base score Version Severity Vector
4.8 4.0 —
CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:L/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:L)
Attacker needs local access on the target system.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Exploitation conditions are straightforward and stable.
Attack requirements (AT:N)
No additional preconditions are required beyond normal reachability.
Privileges required (PR:L)
Low privileges are required.
User interaction (UI:N)
No user interaction is required.
Vulnerable system confidentiality impact (VC:L)
Limited confidentiality impact on the vulnerable system.
Vulnerable system integrity impact (VI:N)
No integrity impact on the vulnerable system.
Vulnerable system availability impact (VA:N)
No availability impact on the vulnerable system.
Subsequent system confidentiality impact (SC:N)
No confidentiality impact on subsequent systems.
Subsequent system integrity impact (SI:N)
No integrity impact on subsequent systems.
Subsequent system availability impact (SA:N)
No availability impact on subsequent systems.

Identifiers

Type Value
GHSA GHSA-7rvm-xjpp-63r9 ↗
CVE CVE-2026-42890 ↗

CWEs

CWE id Name
CWE-94 Improper Control of Generation of Code ('Code Injection')
CWE-250 Execution with Unnecessary Privileges
CWE-693 Protection Mechanism Failure

Credits

  • mustafa-sec (reporter)

Affected packages (1)

Vulnerable version ranges and first patched releases as published by GitHub.

Ecosystem Package Vulnerable range First patched Vulnerable functions
npm actual < 26.5.0 26.5.0 —

References

cvelogic Threat Intelligence