dbcve.org
macOSOperating system · Apple

CVE-2022-32896

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-02-27
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 11.7 / 12.6 or later.
See remediation →
57/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Zero-click

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
This issue was addressed by enabling hardened runtime. This issue is fixed in macOS Monterey 12.6, macOS Big Sur 11.7. A user may be able to view sensitive user information.

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 vulnerability in macOS allows a user to view sensitive user information. The issue was addressed by enabling hardened runtime, a macOS security feature that provides additional runtime protections.

MitigationEnable hardened runtime for the affected application or system component. For third-party developers, this involves enabling the Hardened Runtime capability in Xcode and rebuilding the 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
macOSOperating system
Affected:>= 11.0, < 11.7>= 12.0.0, < 12.6

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
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Check installed macOS version
    Click Apple menu > About This Mac. Note the version number (e.g., 11.6, 12.4).
    Affected if Version is 11.0-11.6 or 12.0-12.5 (these ranges are vulnerable). Version 11.7+, 12.6+, or 13.0+ are not affected.
  2. Identify affected application or component
    Determine which specific macOS application, tool, or system component handles sensitive user information in your environment.
    Affected if The application/component is running on an affected macOS version and does not have hardened runtime enabled.
  3. Verify hardened runtime for an application
    Open Terminal and run: codesign -dv /Applications/<AppName>.app 2>&1 | grep -i runtime. Look for 'Runtime' in the output. If absent, hardened runtime is not enabled.
    Affected if The command shows no 'Runtime' attribute, meaning hardened runtime is disabled and the system is vulnerable.
  4. Check system-wide hardened runtime status (if applicable)
    On affected macOS versions (11.x and 12.x), hardened runtime is a system protection. If running an affected macOS version without security updates applied, the system is vulnerable unless specific apps have hardened runtime enabled.
    Affected if Running affected macOS version (11.0-11.6 or 12.0-12.5) and the sensitive application/component lacks hardened runtime protection.

You are affected if your macOS version is 11.0-11.6 or 12.0-12.5 AND the specific application or component handling sensitive user data does not have hardened runtime enabled (verified via codesign inspection).

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 11.7 / 12.6 or later
Fixed in 11.712.6
Interim mitigation

Enable hardened runtime for the affected application or system component. For third-party developers, this involves enabling the Hardened Runtime capability in Xcode and rebuilding the application.

Recommended fix High confidence

macOS Big Sur 11.7 or macOS Monterey 12.6 (depending on current major version)

  1. Back up important data before starting the update process
  2. Determine the current macOS version by clicking Apple menu > About This Mac
  3. For macOS Big Sur (11.0-11.6) users: Update to macOS 11.7 via System Preferences > Software Update, or download the macOS 11.7 security update from Apple Support
  4. For macOS Monterey (12.0-12.5) users: Update to macOS 12.6 via System Preferences > Software Update, or download the macOS 12.6 security update from Apple Support
  5. Restart the computer when prompted to complete the installation
  6. Verify the update was successful by checking System Preferences > Software Update or running 'sw_vers' in Terminal
Caveat Point release updates typically have minimal breaking changes, but verify compatibility of critical applications before upgrading

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

Fix this in macOS Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
5.0 hours of engineering $890
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,424.

Scan for this in your stack

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dbcve dependency scanner

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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-2022-32896 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