dbcve.org
macOSOperating system · Apple

CVE-2022-32900

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-02-27
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 11.7 / 12.6 or later.
See remediation →
80/100
Remediation priority · High
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
A logic issue was addressed with improved state management. This issue is fixed in macOS Monterey 12.6, macOS Big Sur 11.7. 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

A logic flaw in macOS state management allows a malicious application to escalate privileges beyond its intended authorization level, potentially executing code with elevated system rights.

MitigationApply the macOS security updates: upgrade to macOS Monterey 12.6 or later, or macOS Big Sur 11.7 or later, as these versions contain the corrected state management logic.

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
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/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. Confirm macOS is the running operating system
    Run 'uname -a' and verify the kernel is Darwin based, or check System Preferences to confirm macOS
    Affected if System is not running macOS (not applicable)
  2. Retrieve the installed macOS version number
    Execute 'sw_vers -productVersion' in Terminal to get the exact version (e.g., 12.5, 11.6.5)
    Affected if Unable to determine the macOS version
  3. Compare version against the first affected range
    Check if the version starts with 11. and is less than 11.7 (e.g., 11.0 through 11.6.x)
    Affected if Version is 11.x where x < 7
  4. Compare version against the second affected range
    Check if the version starts with 12. and is less than 12.6 (e.g., 12.0 through 12.5.x)
    Affected if Version is 12.x where x < 6

The system is affected if the installed macOS version is 11.0 to 11.6.x OR 12.0 to 12.5.x; it is NOT affected if running 11.7+, 12.6+, or a different OS entirely.

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

Apply the macOS security updates: upgrade to macOS Monterey 12.6 or later, or macOS Big Sur 11.7 or later, as these versions contain the corrected state management logic.

Recommended fix High confidence

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

  1. Back up your Mac using Time Machine before performing any system upgrade
  2. Check your current macOS version by clicking the Apple menu > About This Mac
  3. If running macOS 12.x (Monterey), upgrade to macOS 12.6 via System Preferences > Software Update > Upgrade Now
  4. If running macOS 11.x (Big Sur), upgrade to macOS 11.7 via System Preferences > Software Update > Upgrade Now
  5. After upgrading, verify the update was successful by checking About This Mac shows the patched version
Caveat Standard upgrade precautions apply - back up data before updating; some older apps may not be compatible with newer macOS versions

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

Fix this in macOS Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
9.0 hours of engineering $1,600
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,560.

Scan for this in your stack

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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-2022-32900 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