SafariWeb browser · Apple

CVE-2022-22628

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-09-23
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 8.5 / 12.3 or later.
See remediation →
95/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
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 12.3, Safari 15.4, watchOS 8.5, iOS 15.4 and iPadOS 15.4, tvOS 15.4. Processing maliciously crafted web content may lead to arbitrary code execution.

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 allows arbitrary code execution when processing maliciously crafted web content. This affects Safari 15.4 and multiple Apple operating systems (iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, tvOS) prior to their 15.4/12.3 updates.

MitigationApply the vendor-supplied security updates: Safari 15.4, macOS Monterey 12.3, iOS/iPadOS 15.4, watchOS 8.5, or tvOS 15.4 and later.

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:< 15.4
Ipad OsOperating system
Affected:< 15.4
Iphone OsOperating system
Affected:< 15.4
macOSOperating system
Affected:>= 12.0, < 12.3
TvosOperating system
Affected:< 15.4
WatchosOperating system
Affected:< 8.5

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
    Open Safari, go to Safari > About Safari (or press Cmd+Comma) to view the installed version number
    Affected if The version displayed is earlier than 15.4 (for example, 15.3.x or earlier)
  2. Check macOS version
    Click Apple menu > About This Mac to view the macOS version
    Affected if The macOS version shown is 12.0, 12.1, or 12.2 (versions 12.0 through 12.2 are within the affected range)
  3. Check iOS or iPadOS version
    Go to Settings > General > About on the device to view the iOS/iPadOS version
    Affected if The version displayed is earlier than 15.4 (for example, 15.3.x or earlier)
  4. Check watchOS version
    Open the Watch app on iPhone, go to My Watch > General > About to view the watchOS version
    Affected if The version displayed is earlier than 8.5 (for example, 8.4.x or earlier)
  5. Check tvOS version
    Go to Settings > General > About on Apple TV to view the tvOS version
    Affected if The version displayed is earlier than 15.4 (for example, 15.3.x or earlier)

If any Apple product (Safari, macOS, iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, or tvOS) on your system is found to be at a version lower than the minimum fixed version (15.4 for Safari/iOS/iPadOS/tvOS/watchOS, or 12.3 for macOS), the WebKit use-after-free vulnerability is present and could be triggered by visiting malicious web content.

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 8.5 / 12.3 / 15.4 or later
Fixed in 8.512.315.4
Interim mitigation

Apply the vendor-supplied security updates: Safari 15.4, macOS Monterey 12.3, iOS/iPadOS 15.4, watchOS 8.5, or tvOS 15.4 and later.

Recommended fix High confidence

iOS 15.4+, iPadOS 15.4+, watchOS 8.5+, tvOS 15.4+, macOS Monterey 12.3+, Safari 15.4+

  1. For iPhone and iPad: Go to Settings > General > Software Update and install iOS/iPadOS 15.4 or later
  2. For Apple Watch: Open the Watch app on iPhone, go to My Watch > General > Software Update, and install watchOS 8.5 or later
  3. For Apple TV: Go to Settings > System > Software Updates and install tvOS 15.4 or later
  4. For Mac: Go to System Preferences > Software Update and install macOS Monterey 12.3 or later, or update Safari to version 15.4+
  5. Ensure WebKit is updated by applying the latest system updates for your device

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

Fix this in Safari Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation3.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
8.0 hours of engineering $1,420
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,272.

Scan for this in your stack

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dbcve dependency scanner

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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-2022-22628 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