CVE-2022-42831
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 race condition was addressed with improved locking. This issue is fixed in iOS 16.1 and iPadOS 16, macOS Ventura 13. An app with root privileges 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 · moderate confidenceThis is a race condition vulnerability in Apple's kernel (iOS, iPadOS, and macOS) where an application running with root-level user privileges can escalate to execute arbitrary code with kernel/system-level privileges. The fix involved implementing improved locking mechanisms to prevent the race condition from being exploitable.
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< 16.0< 16.1< 13.0CVSS 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
- Local
- Complexity
- High
- Privileges
- High
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:H/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify the Apple operating systemDetermine if the device is running iOS, iPadOS, or macOS. On the device, go to Settings > General > About to view the system information.Affected if The device is running any Apple OS (iOS, iPadOS, or macOS) and the version has not been determined yet.
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Check iOS version on iPhoneOn iPhone, go to Settings > General > About and note the version number. Compare it to the affected range: versions less than 16.1 are vulnerable.Affected if The installed iOS version is below 16.1.
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Check iPadOS version on iPadOn iPad, go to Settings > General > About and note the version number. Compare it to the affected range: versions less than 16.0 are vulnerable.Affected if The installed iPadOS version is below 16.0.
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Check macOS version on MacOpen Terminal and run 'sw_vers -productVersion' to display the macOS version number, or go to System Settings > About. Compare to the affected range: versions below 13.0 are vulnerable.Affected if The installed macOS version is below 13.0.
A system is affected if it is running any version of iOS below 16.1, iPadOS below 16.0, or macOS below 13.0.
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 · scoped13.016.016.1
Apply the vendor-supplied security updates: iOS 16.1 or later, iPadOS 16 or later, or macOS Ventura 13 or later. This is a critical kernel-level patch that should be prioritized for all managed devices.
iOS 16.1, iPadOS 16, macOS Ventura 13
- For iPhone users: Back up device data, then go to Settings > General > Software Update and install iOS 16.1 or later
- For iPad users: Back up device data, then go to Settings > General > Software Update and install iPadOS 16 or later
- For Mac users: Back up system data, then go to System Preferences > Software Update and install macOS Ventura 13 (or later)
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,120.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2022-42831 — 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-2022-42831 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