dbcve.org
Actively exploited in the wild. This CVE is on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities list — treat remediation as urgent. Federal remediation due by 25 Feb 2022.
SafariWeb browser · Apple

CVE-2022-22620

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-03-18
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 12.2.1 / 15.3 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
In the wild Remotely reachable No privileges

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
A use after free issue was addressed with improved memory management. This issue is fixed in macOS Monterey 12.2.1, iOS 15.3.1 and iPadOS 15.3.1, Safari 15.3 (v. 16612.4.9.1.8 and 15612.4.9.1.8). Processing maliciously crafted web content may lead to arbitrary code execution. Apple is aware of a report that this issue may have been actively exploited..

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

A use-after-free vulnerability in WebKit (Safari's rendering engine) allows arbitrary code execution when processing maliciously crafted web content. The vulnerability stems from improper memory management during web content processing, where freed memory is accessed after being deallocated.

MitigationApply the vendor security updates: macOS Monterey 12.2.1, iOS/iPadOS 15.3.1, or Safari 15.3. This is a zero-day vulnerability known to be actively exploited in the wild.

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
SafariWeb browser
Affected:< 15.3
IpadosOperating system
Affected:< 15.3.1
Iphone OsOperating system
Affected:< 15.3.1
macOSOperating system
Affected:>= 12.0.0, < 12.2.1

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
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

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

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. Check Safari version on macOS
    Open Safari, go to Safari menu > About Safari. Note the version number displayed.
    Affected if The version is earlier than 15.3 (for example, 15.2.x or earlier)
  2. Check iOS version on iPhone
    Go to Settings > General > About. Note the version number next to Software Version.
    Affected if The version is earlier than 15.3.1 (for example, 15.3.0 or earlier)
  3. Check iPadOS version on iPad
    Go to Settings > General > About. Note the version number next to Software Version.
    Affected if The version is earlier than 15.3.1 (for example, 15.3.0 or earlier)
  4. Check macOS version on Mac
    Click the Apple menu > About This Mac. Note the macOS version displayed (for example, 12.2, 12.1, 12.0).
    Affected if The macOS version is 12.0.0 or later BUT earlier than 12.2.1 (for example, 12.0.x, 12.1.x)
  5. Confirm WebKit rendering is in use
    This vulnerability affects any application using WebKit for web content rendering. Check if Safari or any third-party browser using system WebKit is actively used.
    Affected if WebKit-based browsers are in regular use on an affected OS version

A user is affected if their Safari is below 15.3, their iOS/iPadOS is below 15.3.1, or their macOS falls between 12.0.0 and 12.2.1 inclusive.

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 12.2.1 / 15.3 / 15.3.1 or later
Fixed in 12.2.115.315.3.1
Interim mitigation

Apply the vendor security updates: macOS Monterey 12.2.1, iOS/iPadOS 15.3.1, or Safari 15.3. This is a zero-day vulnerability known to be actively exploited in the wild.

Recommended fix High confidence

macOS Monterey 12.2.1, iOS 15.3.1, iPadOS 15.3.1, Safari 15.3

  1. For macOS Monterey users: Open System Preferences > Software Update and install the update to version 12.2.1
  2. For iPhone users: Go to Settings > General > Software Update and install iOS 15.3.1
  3. For iPad users: Go to Settings > General > Software Update and install iPadOS 15.3.1
  4. For Safari users on macOS: Update Safari by installing macOS Monterey 12.2.1, or for older macOS versions, update to Safari 15.3 through the App Store or Software Update

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

Fix this in Safari Exploited in the wild — priority engagement
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
9.0 hours of engineering $1,600
Get it fixed fast

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,560.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2022-22620 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2022-22620 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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