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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 21 Feb 2024.
IpadosOperating system · Apple

CVE-2022-48618

HIGH · 7.0 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-01-09
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 9.2 / 13.1 or later.
See remediation →
96/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
In the wild 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
The issue was addressed with improved checks. This issue is fixed in macOS Ventura 13.1, watchOS 9.2, iOS 16.2 and iPadOS 16.2, tvOS 16.2. An attacker with arbitrary read and write capability may be able to bypass Pointer Authentication. Apple is aware of a report that this issue may have been exploited against versions of iOS released before iOS 15.7.1.

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 · high confidence

A Pointer Authentication Code (PAC) bypass vulnerability in Apple kernel allows attackers with arbitrary read/write capability to circumvent ARM pointer authentication security checks, potentially enabling arbitrary code execution. This was actively exploited in the wild against iOS versions before 15.7.1.

MitigationApply Apple's security updates (iOS 16.2/iPadOS 16.2, macOS Ventura 13.1, watchOS 9.2, tvOS 16.2) or the iOS 15.7.1 patch for devices that cannot run newer versions. Prioritize updating externally-facing or high-risk devices.

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:< 16.2
Iphone OsOperating system
Affected:< 16.2
macOSOperating system
Affected:>= 13.0, < 13.1
TvosOperating system
Affected:< 16.2
WatchosOperating system
Affected:< 9.2

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/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 iOS or iPadOS version
    On the iPhone or iPad, go to Settings > General > About and record the version number shown next to 'Version'
    Affected if The version is earlier than 16.2 (for example, 15.7 or 16.1)
  2. Identify macOS version
    On Mac, click the Apple menu in the top-left corner, select About This Mac, and record the version number (such as 13.0 or 13.1)
    Affected if The version is 13.0 specifically (version 13.1 is not affected)
  3. Identify watchOS version
    On Apple Watch, open the Settings app, go to General > About and record the version number; alternatively, open the Watch app on a paired iPhone and navigate to My Watch > General > About
    Affected if The version is earlier than 9.2 (for example, 9.1 or earlier)
  4. Identify tvOS version
    On Apple TV, go to Settings > General > About and record the version number shown next to 'Version'
    Affected if The version is earlier than 16.2

If the device runs any affected OS version (iOS/iPadOS/tvOS below 16.2, watchOS below 9.2, or macOS exactly 13.0), the device is vulnerable to this PAC bypass and may have been targeted in the reported in-the-wild exploits.

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 9.2 / 13.1 / 16.2 or later
Fixed in 9.213.116.2
Interim mitigation

Apply Apple's security updates (iOS 16.2/iPadOS 16.2, macOS Ventura 13.1, watchOS 9.2, tvOS 16.2) or the iOS 15.7.1 patch for devices that cannot run newer versions. Prioritize updating externally-facing or high-risk devices.

Recommended fix High confidence

iOS 16.2 / iPadOS 16.2 / macOS Ventura 13.1 / tvOS 16.2 / watchOS 9.2

  1. Verify current device OS version in Settings > General > About (iOS/iPadOS/tvOS) or System Settings > General > About (macOS) or Settings app > General > About (watchOS)
  2. For iPhone/iPad: Navigate to Settings > General > Software Update and install iOS 16.2 or iPadOS 16.2
  3. For Mac: Open System Settings > General > Software Update and install macOS Ventura 13.1
  4. For Apple TV: Go to Settings > System > Software Updates and install tvOS 16.2
  5. For Apple Watch: Open the Watch app on iPhone, go to My Watch > General > Software Update and install watchOS 9.2
  6. After update, verify the fix is applied by checking Settings > General > About shows the patched version
Caveat Standard Apple minor version upgrade considerations apply - ensure backups exist before updating

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

Fix this in Ipados Exploited in the wild — priority engagement
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
9.0 hours of engineering $1,600
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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-2022-48618 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