Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2022-32826 is an Apple privilege escalation flaw. On affected Apple systems, an app could gain root privileges, giving it very broad control of the device. Apple fixed it in July 2022 platform updates. The provided sources do not show active exploitation.
Executive priority
Treat as high priority for patch compliance, especially on employee workstations and mobile devices. The issue enables root-level compromise from an app context, but the provided evidence does not indicate known active exploitation.
Technical view
This is a CWE-269 authorization/state-management issue in Apple operating systems. CVSS 7.8 rates it local, low complexity, no privileges required, user interaction required, with high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact. Apple says improved state management fixed the issue across iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS releases.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely on Apple devices below iOS/iPadOS 15.6, macOS Monterey 12.5, macOS Big Sur 11.6.8, Security Update 2022-005 Catalina, watchOS 8.7, or tvOS 15.6. The bundle does not identify a narrower vulnerable component or device model list.
Exploitation context
The source bundle marks KEV as false and provides no cited evidence of active exploitation. Risk is still meaningful because a malicious or compromised local app could elevate to root after user interaction on an unpatched system.
Researcher notes
The public details are limited: Apple describes an authorization issue fixed with improved state management and root privilege impact. No exploit path, affected component, or detailed preconditions are included in the provided sources. Avoid assuming exploit availability beyond the CVSS vector.
Mitigation direction
- Update affected Apple devices to the fixed releases or later.
- Prioritize managed macOS, iOS, and iPadOS fleets with outdated versions.
- Check Apple security pages for any platform-specific update requirements.
- Limit installation of untrusted apps until systems are updated.
Validation and detection
- Inventory Apple OS versions across managed endpoints.
- Confirm devices meet or exceed Apple's fixed release versions.
- Review MDM compliance reports for lagging macOS, iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, and tvOS devices.
- Verify Apple security updates are installed on Catalina systems.
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-269: Authorization and privilege behavior lookup
Authorization weaknesses can support privilege escalation and valid-account review, depending on exploit path. 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 lookupCVE-2022-32826 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
- No
- 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.
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/HT213345CVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
- https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT213340CVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
- https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT213342CVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
- https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT213346CVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
- https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT213344CVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
- https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT213343CVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
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.
Improper Privilege Management
Improper Privilege Management represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.