dbcve.org
IpadosOperating system · Apple

CVE-2022-22632

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-03-18
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 8.5 / 11.6.5 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
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
A logic issue was addressed with improved state management. This issue is fixed in tvOS 15.4, iOS 15.4 and iPadOS 15.4, macOS Big Sur 11.6.5, watchOS 8.5, macOS Monterey 12.3. A malicious application may be able to elevate privileges.

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 · moderate confidence

This is a logic vulnerability in Apple's state management within iOS, iPadOS, macOS, tvOS, and watchOS. A malicious application can exploit improper state handling to elevate privileges beyond what should be permitted, potentially gaining root or kernel-level access.

MitigationApply the vendor-supplied patches by updating all affected Apple devices to tvOS 15.4, iOS/iPadOS 15.4, macOS Big Sur 11.6.5, macOS Monterey 12.3, or watchOS 8.5 respectively.

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:< 15.4
Iphone OsOperating system
Affected:< 15.4
macOSOperating system
Affected:>= 11.6, < 11.6.5>= 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
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/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. Identify your Apple device platform
    Determine whether the device runs iOS, iPadOS, macOS, tvOS, or watchOS. On iOS/iPadOS, go to Settings > General > About. On macOS, go to Apple menu > About This Mac. On tvOS/watchOS, go to Settings > General > About.
    Affected if Any device running one of the affected platforms listed in the CVE.
  2. Check your installed iOS or iPadOS version
    On iOS/iPadOS: Settings > General > About, then note the version number. Compare it to 15.4.
    Affected if iOS or iPadOS version is lower than 15.4.
  3. Check your installed macOS version
    On macOS: Apple menu > About This Mac, then note the version number. Compare to 11.6.5 and 12.3. Check both the major version (e.g., 11.x or 12.x) and the specific subversion.
    Affected if macOS is 11.6.x (where x is less than 5) OR macOS is 12.0 through 12.2.x.
  4. Check your installed tvOS or watchOS version
    On tvOS: Settings > General > About > Version. On watchOS: On iPhone, open Watch app > My Watch > General > About > watchOS. Compare to 15.4 for tvOS or 8.5 for watchOS.
    Affected if tvOS is lower than 15.4, or watchOS is lower than 8.5.
  5. Assess application execution risk
    Determine if the device allows installation of applications from untrusted sources. On iOS/iPadOS, check if sidloading, beta profiles, or developer modes are enabled. On macOS, check if Gatekeeper is disabled or if apps can be run from unidentified developers (System Preferences > Security & Privacy > General).
    Affected if The device allows execution of untrusted or unverified applications, enabling the malicious app attack vector for this privilege escalation.

You are affected if your device runs any version of iOS, iPadOS, macOS, tvOS, or watchOS that falls below the patched versions (15.4 for iOS/iPadOS/tvOS, 8.5 for watchOS, 11.6.5 or 12.3 for macOS) AND you have the potential for untrusted applications to execute on your device.

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 / 11.6.5 / 12.3 or later
Fixed in 8.511.6.512.3
Interim mitigation

Apply the vendor-supplied patches by updating all affected Apple devices to tvOS 15.4, iOS/iPadOS 15.4, macOS Big Sur 11.6.5, macOS Monterey 12.3, or watchOS 8.5 respectively.

Recommended fix High confidence

iOS 15.4 / iPadOS 15.4 / macOS Big Sur 11.6.5 / macOS Monterey 12.3 / tvOS 15.4 / watchOS 8.5

  1. Open Settings on the device
  2. Navigate to General > Software Update
  3. Download and install the latest available update for your device model
  4. For macOS: Use System Preferences > Software Update or the App Store to install macOS updates
  5. Restart the device after update installation completes
Caveat Standard OS update; ensure backups exist before updating; some legacy applications may not be compatible with newer OS versions

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

Fix this in Ipados Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
16.0 hours of engineering $2,800
Get the upgrade done

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Scan for this in your stack

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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-2022-22632 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