Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
This Apple kernel flaw could let a malicious application gain the highest level of control on a device. Apple fixed it across iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS, and CISA lists it as known exploited. Treat unpatched Apple endpoints as a real business risk, especially phones and laptops used by privileged staff.
Executive priority
Prioritize this as an urgent Apple fleet patching issue. It has kernel impact and known exploitation evidence, but requires local application execution and user interaction. The main business action is rapid verification of Apple device update status.
Technical view
CVE-2022-22675 is a CWE-787 out-of-bounds write with CVSS 7.8. The source states an application may execute arbitrary code with kernel privileges. The vector is local, low complexity, no privileges required, with user interaction required. Fixed versions include iOS/iPadOS 15.4.1, macOS Monterey 12.3.1, macOS Big Sur 11.6.6, watchOS 8.6, and tvOS 15.5.
Likely exposure
Exposure is likely on Apple devices running versions older than the named fixed releases. The bundle does not provide exact vulnerable version ranges, so inventory should compare deployed iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS builds against Apple’s fixed versions.
Exploitation context
Apple reported awareness that the issue may have been actively exploited, and CISA KEV status supports treating exploitation as confirmed in the wild. Public details here do not describe the exploit chain, targeted populations, malware family, or initial delivery method.
Researcher notes
The provided sources identify impact and fixed versions but not root-cause detail, exploit primitives, affected component names, or indicators of compromise. Validation should focus on version compliance and exposure scoping, with deeper exploit analysis deferred until authoritative technical details are available.
Mitigation direction
- Update iOS and iPadOS devices to 15.4.1 or later.
- Update macOS Monterey to 12.3.1 or later.
- Update macOS Big Sur to 11.6.6 or later.
- Update watchOS to 8.6 and tvOS to 15.5 or later.
- Prioritize managed, executive, developer, and privileged Apple endpoints.
- Check Apple guidance for device-specific support and replacement constraints.
Validation and detection
- Inventory Apple operating system versions across managed and unmanaged device fleets.
- Confirm each device is at or beyond the fixed version named by Apple.
- Flag older builds for urgent remediation or risk acceptance.
- Review MDM compliance reports for patch deployment failures.
- Monitor security tools for suspicious application-to-kernel behavior where telemetry exists.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CWE-787: Exact CWE lookup
Use the exact CWE identifier as the starting point before reviewing related ATT&CK behavior. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupExecution behavior lookup
The CVE wording references code or command execution, so execution technique review may help defensive triage. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2022-22675 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- High
- CVSS
- 7.8 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- Yes
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5
These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.
CISA KEV status
CVSS vector scores
1 official scoreWe collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H1.85.9Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
7.8HighVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT213256CVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
- https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT213220CVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
- https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT213219CVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
- https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT213253CVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
- https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT213254CVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
- https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2022-22675CVE reference · government-resource
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.
Out-of-bounds Write
Out-of-bounds Write represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.