dbcve.org
IpadosOperating system · Apple

CVE-2022-42803

HIGH · 7.0 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-11-01
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 9.1 / 12.6.1 or later.
See remediation →
73/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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 race condition was addressed with improved locking. This issue is fixed in tvOS 16.1, iOS 15.7.1 and iPadOS 15.7.1, macOS Ventura 13, watchOS 9.1, iOS 16.1 and iPadOS 16, macOS Monterey 12.6.1. An app may be able to execute arbitrary code with kernel 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 · high confidence

A race condition vulnerability in Apple kernel components allowed a malicious application to potentially execute arbitrary code with kernel-level privileges. The fix involved improved locking mechanisms to prevent the race condition from being exploitable.

MitigationApply the vendor-supplied patches by updating affected devices to tvOS 16.1, iOS/iPadOS 15.7.1 or 16.1, macOS Monterey 12.6.1 or Ventura 13, or watchOS 9.1 as appropriate for the device type.

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:< 15.7.1
Iphone OsOperating system
Affected:< 15.7.1= 16.0
macOSOperating system
Affected:< 12.6.1
TvosOperating system
Affected:< 16.1
WatchosOperating system
Affected:< 9.1

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
High
Privileges
None
User interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/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. Identify the Apple device type and OS
    Determine whether the device runs iOS, iPadOS, macOS, tvOS, or watchOS. On iOS/iPadOS, go to Settings > General > About. On macOS, go to System Settings > General > About or run 'sw_vers' in Terminal. On tvOS/watchOS, go to Settings > General > About.
    Affected if The device runs any of the affected Apple operating systems listed in the version ranges.
  2. Check the installed iOS or iPadOS version
    On iOS/iPadOS devices, note the version number shown in Settings > General > About (for example, 15.7 or 16.0). Compare this against the affected ranges: iPadOS < 15.7.1 or iPhone OS < 15.7.1 or = 16.0.
    Affected if The version is 15.7, 15.7.0, or 16.0 specifically.
  3. Check the installed macOS version
    On macOS, note the version number shown in System Settings > General > About (for example, 12.6 or 12.6.0). Alternatively, run 'sw_vers -productVersion' in Terminal. Compare against the affected range: macOS < 12.6.1.
    Affected if The version is 12.6.0 or earlier (any version below 12.6.1).
  4. Check the installed tvOS or watchOS version
    On tvOS, go to Settings > General > About. On watchOS, go to Settings > General > About. Note the version number and compare against affected ranges: tvOS < 16.1 or watchOS < 9.1.
    Affected if The tvOS version is 16.0 or earlier, or the watchOS version is 9.0 or earlier.

The device is affected if it runs any Apple OS version that falls within the ranges: iOS/iPadOS 15.7 through 16.0, macOS 12.6.0 or earlier, tvOS 16.0 or earlier, or watchOS 9.0 or earlier.

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 9.1 / 12.6.1 / 15.7.1 or later
Fixed in 9.112.6.115.7.1
Interim mitigation

Apply the vendor-supplied patches by updating affected devices to tvOS 16.1, iOS/iPadOS 15.7.1 or 16.1, macOS Monterey 12.6.1 or Ventura 13, or watchOS 9.1 as appropriate for the device type.

Recommended fix High confidence

iOS 15.7.1+ (or iOS 16.1+), iPadOS 15.7.1+ (or iPadOS 16+), macOS 12.6.1+ (or Ventura 13+), tvOS 16.1+, watchOS 9.1+

  1. Back up your device data before performing the update
  2. For iPhone/iPad: Go to Settings > General > Software Update and install the recommended security update (iOS 15.7.1/iPadOS 15.7.1 or iOS 16.1/iPadOS 16 and later)
  3. For Mac: Go to System Settings > Software Update and install macOS Monterey 12.6.1 or later (or macOS Ventura 13)
  4. For Apple TV: Go to Settings > System > Software Updates and install tvOS 16.1 or later
  5. For Apple Watch: On your iPhone, open the Watch app, go to My Watch > General > Software Update and install watchOS 9.1 or later
Caveat Standard OS update risks apply; review Apple release notes for any known issues before updating

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

Fix this in Ipados Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation3.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
8.0 hours of engineering $1,420
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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-2022-42803 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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