dbcve.org
IpadosOperating system · Apple

CVE-2022-22640

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-03-18
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 8.5 / 12.3 or later.
See remediation →
81/100
Remediation priority · High
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 memory corruption issue was addressed with improved validation. This issue is fixed in tvOS 15.4, iOS 15.4 and iPadOS 15.4, macOS Monterey 12.3, watchOS 8.5. An application may be able to execute arbitrary code with kernel 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 · high confidence

A memory corruption vulnerability in the Apple kernel allows a local application to achieve arbitrary code execution with kernel-level privileges. The issue was addressed through improved memory validation. The vulnerability affects iOS, iPadOS, tvOS, watchOS, and macOS Monterey prior to their 15.4/8.5/12.3 releases.

MitigationApply the vendor-supplied updates: iOS 15.4 and later, iPadOS 15.4 and later, tvOS 15.4 and later, watchOS 8.5 and later, or macOS Monterey 12.3 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
IpadosOperating 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
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/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. Identify the Apple operating system
    Determine whether the device runs iOS, iPadOS, macOS Monterey, tvOS, or watchOS. This can be done via System Preferences on macOS, Settings > General > About on iOS/iPadOS, or the Settings app on tvOS/watchOS.
    Affected if The device runs any of the affected Apple operating systems listed in the CVE (iOS, iPadOS, macOS, tvOS, or watchOS)
  2. Check iOS or iPadOS version
    On the device, go to Settings > General > About and note the version number displayed next to 'Version'.
    Affected if The version is lower than 15.4 (for example, 15.3.1, 15.3, 15.2, etc.)
  3. Check macOS Monterey version
    Click the Apple menu > About This Mac. The version number appears below the macOS name (for example, 12.2.2, 12.2.1, 12.2, 12.1).
    Affected if The version is 12.0 through 12.2.x (any version >= 12.0 but < 12.3)
  4. Check tvOS version
    Go to Settings > General > About > Version on the Apple TV device.
    Affected if The version is lower than 15.4
  5. Check watchOS version
    On the paired iPhone, open the Watch app, go to General > About, and note the watchOS version. Alternatively, on the Apple Watch, go to Settings > General > About.
    Affected if The version is lower than 8.5

A device is affected if it runs iOS/iPadOS/tvOS/watchOS versions below 15.4/8.5 respectively, or macOS Monterey 12.0 through 12.2.x (any version >= 12.0 but < 12.3).

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 updates: iOS 15.4 and later, iPadOS 15.4 and later, tvOS 15.4 and later, watchOS 8.5 and later, or macOS Monterey 12.3 and later.

Recommended fix High confidence

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

  1. Check the current OS version on the device (Settings > General > About on iOS/iPadOS, System Preferences > About on macOS, Settings > General on tvOS/watchOS)
  2. Back up the device before performing the update
  3. For iPhone/iPad: Update to iOS/iPadOS 15.4 or later via Settings > General > Software Update
  4. For Mac: Update to macOS Monterey 12.3 or later via System Preferences > Software Update
  5. For Apple TV: Update to tvOS 15.4 or later via Settings > General > Apple TV Software Updates
  6. For Apple Watch: Update to watchOS 8.5 or later via the Watch app on iPhone > General > Software Update
  7. Verify the update was successful by checking the OS version again
Caveat Minor iOS/macOS updates typically have minimal app compatibility issues, but some older apps may need updates

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

Fix this in Ipados Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,040
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,664.

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-2022-22640 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