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Actively exploited in the wild. This CVE is on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities list — treat remediation as urgent. Federal remediation due by 4 Jan 2023.
SafariWeb browser · Apple

CVE-2022-42856

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-12-15
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 13.1 / 15.7.2 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
In the wild Remotely reachable 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 type confusion issue was addressed with improved state handling. This issue is fixed in Safari 16.2, tvOS 16.2, macOS Ventura 13.1, iOS 15.7.2 and iPadOS 15.7.2, iOS 16.1.2. Processing maliciously crafted web content may lead to arbitrary code execution. Apple is aware of a report that this issue may have been actively exploited against versions of iOS released before iOS 15.1..

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 type confusion vulnerability in WebKit allows processing of maliciously crafted web content to lead to arbitrary code execution. This vulnerability was actively exploited in the wild against iOS versions before 15.1. The issue was addressed through improved state handling in the affected Apple products.

MitigationApply the available security updates (iOS 15.7.2+, iOS 16.1.2+, iPadOS 15.7.2+, macOS Ventura 13.1+, Safari 16.2+, tvOS 16.2+) to all affected devices to remediate this vulnerability.

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
SafariWeb browser
Affected:< 16.2
IpadosOperating system
Affected:< 15.7.2
Iphone OsOperating system
Affected:< 15.7.2>= 16.0, < 16.1.2
macOSOperating system
Affected:< 13.1
TvosOperating system
Affected:< 16.2

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
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/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 platform and browser in use
    Determine if the device runs iOS, iPadOS, macOS, or tvOS, and whether Safari or a WebKit-based browser is the primary browser. On macOS, also check if Safari is the default browser.
    Affected if The device uses any WebKit-based browser on an affected platform.
  2. Check iOS version
    Go to Settings > General > About on iPhone or iPad. Note the version number displayed.
    Affected if The installed iOS version is below 15.7.2, or is 16.0 through 16.1.1.
  3. Check iPadOS version
    Go to Settings > General > About on iPad. Note the version number displayed.
    Affected if The installed iPadOS version is below 15.7.2.
  4. Check macOS version
    Click the Apple menu > About This Mac. Note the version number under macOS.
    Affected if The installed macOS version is below 13.1 (Ventura).
  5. Check Safari version
    Open Safari > About Safari. Note the version number displayed.
    Affected if The installed Safari version is below 16.2.
  6. Check tvOS version
    Go to Settings > General > About > Version on Apple TV. Note the software version.
    Affected if The installed tvOS version is below 16.2.

A user is affected if their device runs any version of iOS, iPadOS, macOS, tvOS, or Safari that falls within the affected version ranges AND they use WebKit to process untrusted web content.

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 13.1 / 15.7.2 / 16.1.2 or later
Fixed in 13.115.7.216.1.2
Interim mitigation

Apply the available security updates (iOS 15.7.2+, iOS 16.1.2+, iPadOS 15.7.2+, macOS Ventura 13.1+, Safari 16.2+, tvOS 16.2+) to all affected devices to remediate this vulnerability.

Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to Safari 16.2, tvOS 16.2, macOS Ventura 13.1, iOS 15.7.2/iPadOS 15.7.2, or iOS 16.1.2/iPadOS 16.1.2 depending on device

  1. For iPhone and iPad: Go to Settings > General > Software Update and upgrade to iOS 15.7.2 or iOS 16.1.2 (or later)
  2. For macOS: Go to System Settings > General > Software Update and upgrade to macOS Ventura 13.1 (or later)
  3. For Safari: Upgrade to Safari 16.2 through macOS Software Update
  4. For tvOS: Go to Settings > System > Software Updates and upgrade to tvOS 16.2 (or later)
Caveat Standard Apple OS update considerations apply - verify critical apps are compatible with the new OS version before updating

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

Fix this in Safari Exploited in the wild — priority engagement
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
17.0 hours of engineering $3,000
Get it fixed fast

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,800.

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-2022-42856 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