dbcve.org
macOSOperating system · Apple

CVE-2022-26749

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 · moderate confidence

Buffer overflow vulnerability in macOS kernel allows a malicious application to execute arbitrary code with kernel-level privileges, achieving privilege escalation from userland to ring 0.

MitigationApply macOS Monterey 12.4 or later security update to patch the kernel memory handling 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. Determine installed macOS version
    Run 'sw_vers -productVersion' in Terminal, or open System Settings > About
    Affected if Command returns a version number that starts with 12.0, 12.1, 12.2, or 12.3
  2. Verify exact version against vulnerable range
    Check if version is greater than or equal to 12.0 but less than 12.4
    Affected if Version is 12.0.x, 12.1.x, 12.2.x, or 12.3.x (any minor update within these major versions)
  3. Confirm patch status
    Compare your version to 12.4 - if lower, the vulnerability is present
    Affected if Version is below 12.4 (12.0 through 12.3 inclusive)

System is affected if running macOS Monterey versions 12.0 through 12.3; version 12.4 or later contains the patch

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 Monterey 12.4 or later security update to patch the kernel memory handling vulnerability.

Recommended fix High confidence

macOS Monterey 12.4 or later

  1. Back up important data before updating your Mac
  2. Check current macOS version by going to Apple menu > About This Mac > System Report > Software
  3. Update to macOS Monterey 12.4 or later: open System Preferences > Software Update
  4. Restart your Mac when prompted to complete the installation
  5. Verify the update was successful by checking System Preferences > Software Update shows no remaining updates
Caveat Standard macOS update; review release notes for any known issues 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
  • 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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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-2022-26749 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