CVE-2022-26696
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 · uneditedThis issue was addressed with improved environment sanitization. This issue is fixed in macOS Monterey 12.4. A sandboxed process may be able to circumvent sandbox restrictions.
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 confidenceA sandbox bypass vulnerability in macOS Monterey allows a sandboxed process to circumvent sandbox restrictions through improper environment sanitization. The vulnerability was addressed with improved environment sanitization controls in macOS Monterey 12.4.
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>= 12.0.0, < 12.4CVSS 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
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Changed
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check macOS Monterey versionRun `sw_vers -productVersion` in Terminal to retrieve the installed macOS version numberAffected if The version displayed is 12.0.0, 12.1.x, 12.2.x, or 12.3.x (any version >= 12.0.0 and < 12.4)
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Confirm macOS release nameRun `sw_vers -productVersion` and verify the major version is 12, indicating macOS MontereyAffected if The major version shows 12 (Monterey) and the minor version is less than 4
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Identify active sandboxed processes (optional context)Run `ps -ef | grep -i sandbox` or check Activity Monitor for processes running with sandbox entitlementsAffected if Sandboxed processes are present on an affected macOS version (12.0-12.3) - the vulnerability allows these to escape restrictions
You are affected if your Mac runs macOS Monterey version 12.0.0 through 12.3.x (any build before 12.4), regardless of whether sandboxed applications are actively running.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 · scoped12.4
Apply the macOS Monterey 12.4 or later security update to patch the environment sanitization vulnerability and prevent sandbox escape.
macOS Monterey 12.4
- Back up your Mac using Time Machine or another backup method before performing any system update
- Open System Preferences (or System Settings on macOS Ventura and later)
- Click on "Software Update" to check for available updates
- Locate and select the macOS Monterey 12.4 update in the list of available updates
- Click "Download and Install" to download the update
- Follow the on-screen prompts to complete the installation, restarting your Mac when prompted
- After the update completes, verify the installation by going to Apple menu > About This Mac and confirming the version shows 12.4 or later
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,800.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2022-26696 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2022-26696 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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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.
- 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