dbcve.org
IpadosOperating system · Apple

CVE-2022-22585

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-03-18
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 8.4 / 11.6.3 or later.
See remediation →
84/100
Remediation priority · High
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
An issue existed within the path validation logic for symlinks. This issue was addressed with improved path sanitization. This issue is fixed in iOS 15.3 and iPadOS 15.3, watchOS 8.4, tvOS 15.3, macOS Monterey 12.2, macOS Big Sur 11.6.3. An application may be able to access a user's files.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

This is a path validation vulnerability in Apple's operating system kernel related to symlink handling. The insufficient path sanitization allows a malicious application to traverse symlinks and access files outside its intended sandbox boundaries, potentially exposing sensitive user data.

MitigationApply the available security updates: iOS 15.3+, iPadOS 15.3+, watchOS 8.4+, tvOS 15.3+, macOS Monterey 12.2+, or macOS Big Sur 11.6.3+ to patch the vulnerable symlink path validation logic.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
IpadosOperating system
Affected:< 15.3
Iphone OsOperating system
Affected:< 15.3
macOSOperating system
Affected:< 11.6.3>= 12.0.0, < 12.2
TvosOperating system
Affected:< 15.3
WatchosOperating system
Affected:< 8.4

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify the macOS version
    Run `sw_vers -productVersion` in Terminal or check System Preferences > About for macOS
    Affected if Version is below 11.6.3, or between 12.0.0 and 12.2 (exclusive)
  2. Identify the iOS version
    Check Settings > General > About on iPhone, or run `idevicesyslog` paired with `ideviceinfo` from libimobiledevice tools
    Affected if Version is below 15.3
  3. Identify the iPadOS version
    Check Settings > General > About on iPad, or run `ideviceinfo` with the appropriate device ID
    Affected if Version is below 15.3
  4. Identify the watchOS version
    Check Settings > General > About on Apple Watch via the paired iPhone's Watch app
    Affected if Version is below 8.4
  5. Identify the tvOS version
    Check Settings > General > About on Apple TV, or check via Xcode device info
    Affected if Version is below 15.3
  6. Confirm application sandbox exposure
    This vulnerability is kernel-level; any third-party application with file system access can potentially exploit it. No specific configuration toggle exists - the flaw is in the kernel path validation logic itself.
    Affected if The device runs an affected OS version and executes untrusted code, particularly applications that handle user-supplied file paths or symlinks

You are affected if your device runs any macOS version below 11.6.3 or between 12.0.0 and 12.2, or any iOS/iPadOS/watchOS/tvOS version below 15.3/8.4 respectively.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 8.4 / 11.6.3 / 12.2 or later
Fixed in 8.411.6.312.2
Interim mitigation

Apply the available security updates: iOS 15.3+, iPadOS 15.3+, watchOS 8.4+, tvOS 15.3+, macOS Monterey 12.2+, or macOS Big Sur 11.6.3+ to patch the vulnerable symlink path validation logic.

Recommended fix High confidence

iOS 15.3/iPadOS 15.3, watchOS 8.4, tvOS 15.3, macOS Big Sur 11.6.3, or macOS Monterey 12.2

  1. 1. Back up your device data using iCloud or iTunes/Finder before proceeding with the upgrade
  2. 2. For iPhone/iPad: Go to Settings > General > Software Update and install iOS 15.3 or iPadOS 15.3
  3. 3. For Mac: Go to System Preferences > Software Update and install macOS Big Sur 11.6.3 or macOS Monterey 12.2 depending on your target version
  4. 4. For Apple Watch: On your iPhone, open the Watch app, go to My Watch > General > Software Update and install watchOS 8.4
  5. 5. For Apple TV: Go to Settings > System > Software Updates and install tvOS 15.3
  6. 6. After updating, verify the update was successful by checking Settings > General > About (or System Preferences > About on Mac)
Caveat Standard OS update considerations apply - review release notes for feature changes and ensure app compatibility before upgrading production devices

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Ipados Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
9.0 hours of engineering $1,600
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2022-22585 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data