dbcve.org
IpadosOperating system · Apple

CVE-2022-26766

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-05-26
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 8.6 / 10.15.7 or later.
See remediation →
58/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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 certificate parsing issue was addressed with improved checks. This issue is fixed in tvOS 15.5, iOS 15.5 and iPadOS 15.5, Security Update 2022-004 Catalina, watchOS 8.6, macOS Big Sur 11.6.6, macOS Monterey 12.4. A malicious app may be able to bypass signature validation.

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 vulnerability in Apple's certificate parsing implementation allowed a malicious app to bypass signature validation checks. The issue was addressed through improved validation checks in the certificate parsing logic, preventing unauthorized apps from evading signature verification on affected Apple platforms.

MitigationApply the available security updates for the respective Apple operating systems (iOS 15.5, iPadOS 15.5, tvOS 15.5, watchOS 8.6, macOS Big Sur 11.6.6, macOS Monterey 12.4, or Security Update 2022-004 for Catalina) to address the certificate parsing flaw.

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:< 15.5
Iphone OsOperating system
Affected:< 15.5
Mac Os XOperating system
Affected:< 10.15.7= 10.15.7
macOSOperating system
Affected:>= 11.0, < 11.6.6>= 12.0, < 12.4
TvosOperating system
Affected:< 15.5
WatchosOperating system
Affected:< 8.6

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
None
Integrity
High
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N

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 iOS or iPadOS version
    On the device, go to Settings > General > About > Version to see the OS version number
    Affected if The version is below 15.5 (for example, 15.4, 15.3, etc.)
  2. Identify the installed macOS version
    Click the Apple menu > About This Mac to see the macOS version (such as 11.5, 12.3, or 10.15.7)
    Affected if The version is 10.15.7, or falls between 11.0 and 11.6.5 inclusive, or between 12.0 and 12.3 inclusive
  3. Identify the installed tvOS version
    Go to Settings > General > About > Version on the Apple TV device
    Affected if The version is below 15.5
  4. Identify the installed watchOS version
    On the paired iPhone, open the Watch app, go to My Watch > General > About to see the watchOS version
    Affected if The version is below 8.6

The environment is affected if any Apple device runs an OS version that falls within the unpatched ranges: iOS/iPadOS/tvOS/watchOS below 15.5/8.6, macOS Catalina 10.15.7, Big Sur 11.0-11.6.5, or Monterey 12.0-12.3.

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 8.6 / 10.15.7 / 11.6.6 or later
Fixed in 8.610.15.711.6.6
Interim mitigation

Apply the available security updates for the respective Apple operating systems (iOS 15.5, iPadOS 15.5, tvOS 15.5, watchOS 8.6, macOS Big Sur 11.6.6, macOS Monterey 12.4, or Security Update 2022-004 for Catalina) to address the certificate parsing flaw.

Recommended fix High confidence

iOS 15.5 / iPadOS 15.5 / macOS 11.6.6 / macOS 12.4 / tvOS 15.5 / watchOS 8.6 / Security Update 2022-004 Catalina

  1. For iPhone/iPad: Go to Settings > General > Software Update and install iOS/iPadOS 15.5 or later
  2. For Mac: Go to System Preferences > Software Update and install macOS 11.6.6 (Big Sur) or macOS 12.4 (Monterey), or apply Security Update 2022-004 for Catalina
  3. For Apple TV: Go to Settings > System > Software Updates and install tvOS 15.5 or later
  4. For Apple Watch: Go to Settings > General > Software Update on the paired iPhone and install watchOS 8.6 or later

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

Fix this in Ipados Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
9.0 hours of engineering $1,600
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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-2022-26766 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