CVE-2022-32786
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 · uneditedAn issue in the handling of environment variables was addressed with improved validation. This issue is fixed in Security Update 2022-005 Catalina, macOS Big Sur 11.6.8, macOS Monterey 12.5. An app may be able to modify protected parts of the file system.
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 confidenceA vulnerability in macOS allows applications to modify protected parts of the file system due to insufficient validation of environment variables. The flaw enables a local application to bypass file system protections through crafted environment variable handling.
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= 10.15.7< 10.15.7>= 11.0, < 11.6.8>= 12.0, < 12.5= 10.15.7CVSS 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check installed macOS versionOpen Terminal and run: sw_vers -productVersionAffected if The version returned is 10.15.7 (unpatched), or < 10.15.7, or between 11.0 and 11.6.7 inclusive, or between 12.0 and 12.4 inclusive
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Verify Security Update 2022-005 on macOS Catalina (10.15.7)Open System Preferences > Software Update, or run: defaults read /System/Library/CoreAccounts/PlugIns/InternalPluginSchema.plist 2>/dev/null | grep -i '2022-005'Affected if The security update is not installed on macOS 10.15.7 (the system remains vulnerable)
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Confirm Big Sur patch statusCheck System Preferences > Software Update or run: system_profiler SPSoftwareDataType | grep '11.6.8'Affected if macOS Big Sur is below 11.6.8 (vulnerable)
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Confirm Monterey patch statusCheck System Preferences > Software Update or run: system_profiler SPSoftwareDataType | grep '12.5'Affected if macOS Monterey is below 12.5 (vulnerable)
The environment is affected if running any macOS version older than 10.15.7 with Security Update 2022-005, older than 11.6.8, or older than 12.5, as these lack the environment variable validation fix.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 · scoped10.15.711.6.812.5
Apply the relevant Apple security updates: Security Update 2022-005 for Catalina, macOS Big Sur 11.6.8, or macOS Monterey 12.5 depending on the macOS version in use.
macOS 10.15.7 (Security Update 2022-005), macOS Big Sur 11.6.8, or macOS Monterey 12.5
- For macOS Catalina (10.15.7): Apply Security Update 2022-005 Catalina
- For macOS Big Sur (11.x): Upgrade to macOS Big Sur 11.6.8 or later
- For macOS Monterey (12.x): Upgrade to macOS Monterey 12.5 or later
- To check your macOS version: Apple menu > About This Mac
- To update: Apple menu > System Preferences > Software Update, or download from Apple Support
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2022-32786 — 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 sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2022-32786 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- 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
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