CVE-2022-46689
A race condition was addressed with additional validation. This issue is fixed in tvOS 16.2, macOS Monterey 12.6.2, macOS Ventura 13.1, macOS Big Sur 11.7.2, iOS 15.7.2 and iPadOS 15.7.2, iOS 16.2 and iPadOS 16.2, watchOS 9.2. An app may be able to execute arbitrary code with kernel privileges.
- CVSS
- 7.0Highscored by CISA
- Exploited in the wild
- Not knownPublic exploit code; not in CISA KEV
- EPSS
- 48.2%chance of exploitation in the next 30 daystop 2% of scored CVEsFIRST score of 11 Nov 2026
- Fix
- Patch availablesee the advisories in the references
- Published
- 15 Dec 2022analysed here 12 Nov 2026
Summary
Triage
The summary, impact and action text on this page are written by our AI analysis pipeline, or taken from the NVD description when a CVE was imported from NVD. They are not the vendor's wording: check them against the sources. A longer AI executive summary and technical analysis are generated for signed-in accounts on the Max plan.
Affected products
| Product | Affected versions | Vendor says fixed in |
|---|---|---|
| Apple macOS | < 11.7Vendor says fixed in: not stated | |
| Apple tvOS | < 16.2< 13.1< 12.6< 15.7Vendor says fixed in: not stated | |
| Apple watchOS | < 9.2Vendor says fixed in: not stated |
As published in the CVE Program record. A version outside these ranges is not a statement that it is unaffected — vendors sometimes understate a range, and distribution-backported builds carry upstream numbers that do not reflect what was patched into them.
Products named in our analysis
- apple:safari
- apple:ipados
- apple:iphone_os
- apple:macos
- apple:tvos
- apple:watchos
Fix and mitigation
WAF and other mitigations
Can a WAF block it? No. The attack needs local access to the machine, so a WAF is not on its path.
Also consider: patch
Based on the attack vector (local or physical access). We check Cloudflare, AWS, Google Cloud Armor and Azure; for Akamai, Imperva, Fastly, F5, ask your vendor.
Remediation steps (AI-written)
Step-by-step remediation is generated for accounts on the Max plan, for CVEs that match a technology in their stack. Add this technology to your stack to see the fix checklist.
Exploitation evidence
- CISA KEV catalog
- Not listed as of our last sync.
- Public exploit code
- Yes: 1 Metasploit module · 13 GitHub proofs of concept
- CISA SSVC
- exploitation none, automatable no, technical impact totalAssessed by CISA 21 Apr 2025 (SSVC 2.0.3). Exploitation is none, poc (public proof of concept) or active.
Metasploit
- exploit/osx/local/mac_dirty_cowexploit, rank excellent
GitHub proofs of concept
- ginsudev/WDBFontOverwrite884 stars
- zhuowei/MacDirtyCowDemo411 stars
- straight-tamago/FileSwitcherX150 stars
- straight-tamago/NoCameraSound128 stars
and 9 more repositories
Listed so you can judge urgency, not as a recommendation to run anything. GitHub “proofs of concept” are unvetted: some are fake or carry malware. Exploit-DB marks the entries its staff verified.
Timeline
- 15 Dec 2022Published
- 17 Dec 2022First public exploit or proof of concept1 day later
- 21 Apr 2025CISA SSVC assessment: exploitation none857 days (about 2 years) later
- 21 Apr 2025CVE record last updatedsame day later
- 12 Nov 2026Analysed by vulneraibility.com570 days (about 2 years) later
CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
| Metric | Value | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Attack vector | LocalLocal access required (shell, logged-in user). | Local access required (shell, logged-in user). |
| Attack complexity | HighNeeds specific conditions, a race or a particular configuration. | Needs specific conditions, a race or a particular configuration. |
| Privileges required | NoneThe attacker needs no prior access. | The attacker needs no prior access. |
| User interaction | RequiredA victim must click, open or otherwise cooperate. | A victim must click, open or otherwise cooperate. |
| Scope | UnchangedImpact stays within the vulnerable component. | Impact stays within the vulnerable component. |
| Confidentiality | HighTotal data disclosure possible. | Total data disclosure possible. |
| Integrity | HighComplete modification possible. | Complete modification possible. |
| Availability | HighFull outage possible. | Full outage possible. |
Common questions
Is CVE-2022-46689 being exploited?
Not confirmed. CVE-2022-46689 does not appear in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, which records only exploitation that has been observed and reported publicly. That is evidence of absence of a report, not evidence the flaw is unattacked. EPSS currently estimates a 48% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
How severe is CVE-2022-46689?
CVE-2022-46689 is rated High with a CVSS score of 7.0. Severity describes how bad exploitation would be, not how likely it is: pair it with exploitation evidence before deciding what to patch first.
Is there a patch for CVE-2022-46689?
Yes. A fix has been recorded for CVE-2022-46689. The vendor advisory is the authority on the exact fixed version — apply it from there rather than from a summary.
What does CVE-2022-46689 affect?
CVE-2022-46689 affects apple:safari, apple:ipados, apple:iphone_os, apple:macos, and 2 further products or versions. Confirm the exact affected versions against the vendor advisory before deciding you are exposed.
Exploitation status reflects CISA's KEV catalog as we last synced it. Check the catalog directly.
References
14 references in the CVE record, grouped by the tags the record gives them.
Other links (14)
- support.apple.com /en-us/HT213535
- support.apple.com /en-us/HT213532
- support.apple.com /en-us/HT213530
- support.apple.com /en-us/HT213531
- support.apple.com /en-us/HT213536
- support.apple.com /en-us/HT213534
Show 8 more
- support.apple.com /en-us/HT213533
- seclists.org /fulldisclosure/2022/Dec/20
- seclists.org /fulldisclosure/2022/Dec/21
- seclists.org /fulldisclosure/2022/Dec/25
- seclists.org /fulldisclosure/2022/Dec/23
- seclists.org /fulldisclosure/2022/Dec/26
- seclists.org /fulldisclosure/2022/Dec/24
- seclists.org /fulldisclosure/2022/Dec/27
Where the data on this page comes from
- CVE List (CVE.org): description, affected versions, references; CVE Terms of Use
- NVD: CVSS and CPE data
- CISA Vulnrichment (ADP): SSVC decision points
- FIRST EPSS: exploit probability and percentile
- Metasploit Framework: exploit and scanner modules
- PoC-in-GitHub: GitHub repositories that claim a proof of concept
Summary, impact and triage tags: written by our AI analysis pipeline from the sources above. Check them against the sources.
Similar CVEs
Get CVEs like this by email. Join the free digest: the CVEs we flag as major, all CVSS 8.0 or higher, in up to three emails a day (sent at 05:00, 11:00 and 15:00 UTC). Matching alerts to the products you run needs an account, and accounts are invite-only during the beta.