Cursor app (and others) has bypass flaw of Transparency, Consent, and Control protections on macOS
Take action: Update Cursor to version 0.48.7 or later immediately to fix the TCC bypass vulnerability, and avoid granting camera or microphone permissions to code editors unless absolutely necessary. Be very cautious when prompted for permissions, as malware can now disguise itself as legitimate applications like Cursor or Visual Studio Code to trick you into allowing access to your private data.
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AFINE Cybersecurity researcher Karol Mazurek reports vulnerabilities that allow malicious applications to bypass Apple's Transparency, Consent, and Control (TCC) framework on macOS systems.
TCC serves as a privacy protection mechanism that controls application access to sensitive user resources, including files in protected directories such as Desktop, Documents, and Downloads folders, personal data like contacts and calendars, hardware devices including cameras and microphones, and other privacy-sensitive assets.
The research identified systemic weaknesses in third-party applications that enable malware to circumvent these privacy protections. The vulnerabilities stem from insecure configuration practices in Electron-based applications - the enablement of RunAsNode fuse settings and misconfigured entitlements that allow code injection attacks.
Primary vulnerability affecting Cursor.app is tracked as CVE-2024-45599 (CVSS score 3.8). The Cursor.app vulnerability allows any program running on an affected macOS machine to access the camera or microphone once Cursor has been granted these permissions. This occurs due to a DyLib Injection weakness that uses the DYLD_INSERT_LIBRARIES environment variable.
Cursor versions from 0.45.0 through 0.48.6 are affected by this vulnerability. The issue was partially addressed in version 0.41.0 by separating entitlements between the main process and extension host process, though complete remediation required updates through version 0.48.7. Microsoft Visual Studio Code has identical vulnerabilities through the same attack vector, but Microsoft has reportedly dismissed the issue, stating it "falls outside their threat model."
The exploitation scenarios include a "Vanilla Scenario" where no user interaction is required when malware exploits the vulnerability, potentially occurring when victims use the app to open projects in their home directory. There is also a "Spoofing Scenario" that requires user interaction, where malware can disguise permission requests under the vulnerable application's name, making users more likely to grant access to sensitive resources like cameras and microphones.
