dbcve.org
Mac Os XOperating system · Apple

CVE-2022-32794

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-11-01
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 logic issue was addressed with improved state management. This issue is fixed in Security Update 2022-004 Catalina, macOS Monterey 12.4, macOS Big Sur 11.6.6. An app may be able to gain elevated 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

This is a local privilege escalation vulnerability in macOS where a logic error in state management allows a malicious application to gain elevated privileges. The flaw was addressed with improved state management in the affected macOS versions.

MitigationApply the relevant Apple security update: Security Update 2022-004 for macOS Catalina, macOS Monterey 12.4, or macOS Big Sur 11.6.6.

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 installed macOS version
    Go to Apple menu > About This Mac, or run 'sw_vers' in Terminal
    Affected if The version shown is 10.15 through 10.15.7, 11.0 through 11.6.5, or 12.0 through 12.3 (these ranges are vulnerable)
  2. Confirm macOS build number
    Run 'sw_vers -buildVersion' in Terminal to see the specific build
    Affected if Build number corresponds to an unpatched version within the affected version ranges above

The system is affected if it runs macOS 10.15 through 10.15.7, 11.0 through 11.6.5, or 12.0 through 12.3 without the Security Update 2022-004 or later patches applied.

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 relevant Apple security update: Security Update 2022-004 for macOS Catalina, macOS Monterey 12.4, or macOS Big Sur 11.6.6.

Recommended fix High confidence

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

  1. 1. Check the current macOS version by clicking the Apple menu and selecting 'About This Mac'
  2. 2. If running macOS Catalina (10.15.x), apply Security Update 2022-004 Catalina via System Preferences > Software Update
  3. 3. If running macOS Big Sur (11.0 to 11.6.5), upgrade to macOS Big Sur 11.6.6 via System Preferences > Software Update
  4. 4. If running macOS Monterey (12.0 to 12.3), upgrade to macOS Monterey 12.4 via System Preferences > Software Update
  5. 5. Restart the system after the update completes
  6. 6. Verify the update was successful by checking About This Mac to confirm the version matches the target fixed release
Caveat Security updates are typically low-risk; however, major version upgrades (e.g., Big Sur to Monterey) may introduce compatibility issues with older applications

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
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
4.0 hours of engineering $750
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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-2022-32794 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