Critical macOS Flaw Exploited to Secretly Mine Cryptocurrency

A serious security flaw in macOS's Screen Sharing feature has been actively exploited by hackers to install cryptocurrency mining software on affected Macs, the Dutch national cyber security agency has warned. U.S. officials rated the vulnerability's severity as critical, scoring it 9.8 out of 10 on the industry-standard CVSS scale.

The attackers used the flaw to deploy Monero miners—malicious programs that hijack a device's processing power to generate cryptocurrency for the attacker, often without the owner's knowledge. This can slow down affected systems significantly and increase electricity costs, while also indicating that attackers had enough access to install software remotely.

Experts are urging all Mac users, including small businesses relying on Apple devices, to update their systems immediately to patch the vulnerability. Unpatched systems remain at risk of further exploitation beyond cryptomining, as attackers who can install one type of malware could potentially install others.