dbcve.org
macOSOperating system · Apple

CVE-2022-26742

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-05-26
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 12.4 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 buffer overflow issue was addressed with improved memory handling. This issue is fixed in macOS Monterey 12.4. 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

Buffer overflow in macOS kernel allows an application to execute arbitrary code with kernel-level privileges. The vulnerability was addressed through improved memory handling in macOS Monterey 12.4.

MitigationApply macOS security update 12.4 or later to patch the kernel buffer overflow vulnerability.

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
macOSOperating system
Affected:>= 12.0, < 12.4

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 installed macOS version
    Run `sw_vers -productVersion` in Terminal or check System Preferences > About This Mac
    Affected if The version displayed is 12.0, 12.1, 12.2, or 12.3 (versions 12.0 through 12.3 are affected)
  2. Confirm the operating system is macOS Monterey
    Run `sw_vers -productName` to verify the OS is macOS and check that it reports Monterey
    Affected if The product is macOS Monterey and the version falls within the vulnerable range

If the system is running macOS Monterey version 12.0 through 12.3, the kernel buffer overflow vulnerability is present and the environment is affected.

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 12.4 or later
Fixed in 12.4
Interim mitigation

Apply macOS security update 12.4 or later to patch the kernel buffer overflow vulnerability.

Recommended fix High confidence

macOS Monterey 12.4

  1. Back up your Mac before updating
  2. Open System Preferences (or System Settings on macOS Ventura and later)
  3. Go to Software Update
  4. Click Check for Updates or the Update Now button
  5. Download and install macOS Monterey 12.4 when available
  6. Restart your Mac when prompted to complete the installation
Caveat Standard macOS upgrade considerations apply - review app compatibility with Monterey before updating

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

Fix this in macOS Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
4.0 hours of engineering $750
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,200.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
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-2022-26742 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