dbcve.org
Mac Os XOperating system · Apple

CVE-2022-26769

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-05-26
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 10.15.7 / 11.6.6 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 input validation. This issue is fixed in Security Update 2022-004 Catalina, macOS Monterey 12.4, macOS Big Sur 11.6.6. A malicious 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 macOS kernel that allows a malicious application to execute arbitrary code with kernel-level privileges. The issue was addressed through improved input validation, preventing the corruption from occurring.

MitigationApply the appropriate Apple security update: Security Update 2022-004 for macOS Catalina, macOS Monterey 12.4, or macOS Big Sur 11.6.6, depending on the deployed version.

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
Mac Os XOperating system
Affected:>= 10.15, < 10.15.7= 10.15.7
macOSOperating system
Affected:>= 11.0, < 11.6.6>= 12.0.0, < 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. Check macOS version via command line
    Run `sw_vers -productVersion` in Terminal to retrieve the installed macOS version number
    Affected if The version is 10.15.7, or falls between 10.15 and 10.15.6, or between 11.0 and 11.6.5, or between 12.0 and 12.3
  2. Verify system is unpatched
    Check for the presence of the security update by reviewing system update history in System Preferences > Software Update, or run `defaults read /Library/Preferences/com.apple.SoftwareUpdate.plist LastSuccessfulDate` if available
    Affected if No security update from June 2022 or later has been installed
  3. Confirm kernel-level exposure
    This is a kernel vulnerability that requires no specific feature or configuration to be enabled - it exists in the kernel itself whenever the affected macOS version is running
    Affected if The system is running any unpatched affected version regardless of configuration

A user is affected if their macOS version falls within 10.15.x (before 10.15.7), 11.0-11.6.5, or 12.0-12.3 and has not received the June 2022 security updates.

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 10.15.7 / 11.6.6 / 12.4 or later
Fixed in 10.15.711.6.612.4
Interim mitigation

Apply the appropriate Apple security update: Security Update 2022-004 for macOS Catalina, macOS Monterey 12.4, or macOS Big Sur 11.6.6, depending on the deployed version.

Recommended fix High confidence

macOS Security Update 2022-004 Catalina / macOS Big Sur 11.6.6 / macOS Monterey 12.4

  1. Back up your Mac using Time Machine or another backup method before applying any updates
  2. Identify your current macOS version by clicking the Apple menu and selecting About This Mac
  3. For macOS Catalina (10.15.x): Install Security Update 2022-004 Catalina via System Preferences > Software Update
  4. For macOS Big Sur (11.x): Update to macOS Big Sur 11.6.6 via System Preferences > Software Update
  5. For macOS Monterey (12.0-12.3): Update to macOS Monterey 12.4 via System Preferences > Software Update
  6. After the update installs, restart your Mac when prompted to complete the security patch
Caveat Security updates typically have minimal breaking changes; however, some older applications may experience compatibility issues with newer macOS versions

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

Fix this in Mac Os X Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
7.0 hours of engineering $1,190
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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-2022-26769 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