CVE-2022-32859
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 · uneditedA logic issue was addressed with improved state management. This issue is fixed in iOS 16. Deleted contacts may still appear in spotlight search results.
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 confidenceIn iOS 16, a logic error in state management causes the Spotlight search index to retain entries for contacts that have been deleted. When users search in Spotlight, these phantom contact entries still appear in results despite being removed from the Contacts application.
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< 16.0CVSS 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
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- Low
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/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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Verify iOS versionGo to Settings > General > About and check the iOS version numberAffected if The version is earlier than 16.0 (any iOS version below 16.0 is affected)
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Identify deleted contactsCheck your Contacts app to identify any contacts you have previously deletedAffected if You have deleted contacts from your device
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Test Spotlight for phantom entriesUse Spotlight search (swipe down on home screen) and search for names of contacts you know you deletedAffected if Deleted contacts appear in Spotlight search results despite being removed from the Contacts app
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Compare contact count discrepancyOpen Contacts app and note the total count, then search individual deleted names in Spotlight to see if they return resultsAffected if Deleted contact names return results in Spotlight that do not exist in the current Contacts list
A device is affected if it runs iOS versions prior to 16.0 AND has deleted contacts that still appear in Spotlight search results.
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 · scoped16.0
Update iOS devices to the patched version (iOS 16 with the fix applied). For enterprise environments, verify all managed devices are updated and consider clearing Spotlight search history to ensure deleted contacts are fully removed from local indices.
iOS 16.0 or later
- Backup your iPhone to iCloud or your computer before upgrading
- Connect your device to WiFi and ensure it is charging
- Go to Settings > General > Software Update on your iPhone
- Download and install iOS 16.0 or later when the update becomes available
- Alternatively, connect your iPhone to a computer with iTunes (Windows) or Finder (macOS) and use the software update option
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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 locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2022-32859 — 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-2022-32859 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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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.
- 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