dbcve.org
IpadosOperating system · Apple

CVE-2022-32908

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-09-20
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 9.0 / 11.7 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 memory corruption issue was addressed with improved input validation. This issue is fixed in macOS Monterey 12.6, iOS 15.7 and iPadOS 15.7, iOS 16, macOS Big Sur 11.7. A user may be able to elevate 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 memory corruption vulnerability in Apple macOS and iOS allows a local authenticated user to elevate privileges to root. The vulnerability was addressed through improved input validation. The flaw exists in multiple Apple OS versions including macOS Big Sur 11.7, Monterey 12.6, iOS 15.7, iOS 16, and iPadOS 15.7.

MitigationApply the appropriate Apple security updates (iOS 15.7/16, iPadOS 15.7, macOS Monterey 12.6, or macOS Big Sur 11.7) to all affected devices and systems.

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
IpadosOperating system
Affected:< 15.7
Iphone OsOperating system
Affected:< 15.7
macOSOperating system
Affected:>= 11.0, < 11.7>= 12.0.0, < 12.6
TvosOperating system
Affected:< 16.0
WatchosOperating system
Affected:< 9.0

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. Identify the operating system type
    Determine if the system is running macOS, iOS, iPadOS, tvOS, or watchOS
    Affected if The OS is any of these Apple platforms
  2. Check macOS version on Apple desktop and laptop systems
    Run 'sw_vers' in Terminal or check System Preferences > About. Look for the version number (e.g., 11.6, 12.5)
    Affected if The version is 11.0 to 11.6.x (before 11.7) or 12.0.0 to 12.5.x (before 12.6)
  3. Check iOS or iPadOS version on mobile devices
    Go to Settings > General > About on the device and note the version number
    Affected if The version is any release before 15.7 (e.g., 15.6, 15.5, etc.)
  4. Check tvOS version on Apple TV devices
    Go to Settings > General > About > Version on the Apple TV
    Affected if The version is any release before 16.0
  5. Check watchOS version on Apple Watch devices
    Open the Watch app on paired iPhone, go to General > About, or check directly on Apple Watch
    Affected if The version is any release before 9.0
  6. Verify local user access context
    This is a local privilege escalation flaw; any authenticated local user account could potentially attempt exploitation
    Affected if The system allows local user authentication (standard for macOS, iOS, iPadOS)

If the installed OS version falls below 11.7 for macOS 11.x, below 12.6 for macOS 12.x, below 15.7 for iOS/iPadOS, below 16.0 for tvOS, or below 9.0 for watchOS, the system is affected by this vulnerability.

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 9.0 / 11.7 / 12.6 or later
Fixed in 9.011.712.6
Interim mitigation

Apply the appropriate Apple security updates (iOS 15.7/16, iPadOS 15.7, macOS Monterey 12.6, or macOS Big Sur 11.7) to all affected devices and systems.

Recommended fix High confidence

iOS 15.7+/iPadOS 15.7+, macOS Big Sur 11.7+, macOS Monterey 12.6+, tvOS 16.0+, watchOS 9.0+

  1. For iOS/iPadOS devices: Go to Settings > General > Software Update and install iOS/iPadOS 15.7 or later
  2. For macOS Big Sur (11.x) devices: Go to System Preferences > Software Update and install macOS Big Sur 11.7
  3. For macOS Monterey (12.x) devices: Go to System Preferences > Software Update and install macOS Monterey 12.6
  4. For tvOS devices: Go to Settings > General > Software Update and install tvOS 16.0 or later
  5. For watchOS devices: On iPhone, open Watch app > General > Software Update and install watchOS 9.0 or later
  6. After updating, verify the new OS version is installed by checking Settings/About on the device
Caveat Apple security updates typically have minimal breaking changes; however, some older applications may have compatibility issues with the new OS versions

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

Fix this in Ipados 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
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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-2022-32908 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