Zoom flaw allows hackers to take over your Mac — update right now

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Latest Zoom update has a fix for a potentially dangerous exploit on macOS

Zoom call on MacBook
(Image credit: Shutterstock)

A PSA for Mac owners who use Zoom for their meetings and family video calls: update your software right away. The company has acted quickly to patch a serious security weakness that could allow a hacker to take control of macOS, letting them edit, add or even delete files at will.

The exploit is blocked in version 5.11.5 of the Zoom app for macOS, and affected users should make the update immediately. The vulnerability got a CVSS score of 8.8 on the company’s security bulletin, denoting it of “high” severity.

It marks a quick turnaround for Zoom’s developers, as the bug was only exposed at the DEF CON hacking conference on Friday (August 12). The security researcher who found the weakness, Patrick Wardle, was certainly impressed, tweeting: “Mahalos to @Zoom for the (incredibly) quick fix!”

That loophole is now, thankfully, closed. Wardle followed up on his congratulatory tweet by explaining exactly how Zoom had made the fix. 

“Reversing the patch, we see the Zoom installer now invokes lchown to update the permissions of the update .pkg, thus preventing malicious subversions,” he explained — accompanied with a padlock and thumbs up emoji, suggesting this gets the Wardle seal of approval.

To update Zoom on your Mac, load it up and then click zoom.us (or whatever your geographical equivalent is) from the menu bar at the top of the screen. Select “Check for updates” and Zoom should pop open a window giving you the details of what’s included. Click “Update” and your download will begin.

Once you're all updated, don't forget to check out our guides to the best free Zoom backgrounds, how to get Snapchat filters on Zoom and our overall page on how to use Zoom.

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Alan Martin
Alan Martin

Freelance contributor Alan has been writing about tech for over a decade, covering phones, drones and everything in between. Previously Deputy Editor of tech site Alphr, his words are found all over the web and in the occasional magazine too. When not weighing up the pros and cons of the latest smartwatch, you'll probably find him tackling his ever-growing games backlog. He also handles all the Wordle coverage on Tom's Guide and has been playing the addictive NYT game for the last several years in an effort to keep his streak forever intact.