macOSOperating system · Apple

CVE-2022-32783

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-09-23
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 12.4 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 logic issue was addressed with improved checks. This issue is fixed in macOS Monterey 12.4. An app may gain unauthorized access to Bluetooth.

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

A logic flaw in macOS Monterey allowed applications to bypass Bluetooth authorization checks, potentially enabling unauthorized access to Bluetooth functionality. This was addressed with improved validation checks in macOS 12.4.

MitigationApply macOS Monterey 12.4 or later security update to patch the Bluetooth authorization bypass 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
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. Check macOS version
    Run 'sw_vers -productVersion' in Terminal or go to Apple menu > About This Mac > macOS version
    Affected if The version is 12.0, 12.1, 12.2, or 12.3 (any version >= 12.0 and < 12.4)
  2. Confirm Bluetooth is enabled
    Go to System Settings > Bluetooth or click the Bluetooth icon in the menu bar
    Affected if Bluetooth is turned on and the system is running a vulnerable macOS version
  3. Review installed applications for Bluetooth access
    Check System Settings > Privacy & Security > Bluetooth to see which apps have Bluetooth permission
    Affected if Any third-party or untrusted applications have Bluetooth access on a vulnerable macOS version

If the system is running any macOS Monterey version from 12.0 through 12.3.x with Bluetooth enabled, the environment is affected by this authorization bypass vulnerability.

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 Bluetooth authorization bypass vulnerability.

Recommended fix High confidence

macOS Monterey 12.4 or later

  1. Back up your Mac using Time Machine or another backup method before proceeding with the update
  2. Open System Preferences (or System Settings on macOS Ventura and later)
  3. Click on Software Update to check for available updates
  4. If macOS Monterey 12.4 or later is available, click Update Now or Download and Install
  5. Allow the update to complete and restart your Mac when prompted
  6. After restart, verify the update was successful by going to Apple menu > About This Mac and confirming the version is 12.4 or later
Caveat Standard macOS upgrade considerations apply - verify critical applications are compatible with Monterey 12.4+ before production deployment

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

Fix this in macOS Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,060
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,696.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2022-32783 — 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 sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2022-32783 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