Threats / Apple / CVE-2022-32917
CVE-2022-32917
· EUVD no mirror located
· GCVE no mirror located
Verified 2026-09-19
Apple iOS, iPadOS, and macOS vulnerability
Apple kernel vulnerability in iOS, iPadOS, and macOS allows applications to execute code with kernel privileges through improper input validation and buffer overflow.
Verdict
Today item — known-exploited.
An application can exploit this kernel vulnerability to gain kernel-level code execution. The vulnerability has been observed in active exploitation in the wild, though not associated with ransomware campaigns.
CISA KEV Yes · 2022-09-144EPSS 0.05603 (verify live)5CVSS 7.8 (CISA)3CISA SSVC Exploitation: active · Automatable: no · Impact: total3
01
Is it exploitable?
— the evidence, ranked above the scoreReported exploitation
6 independent public reports of in-the-wild exploitation are cataloged.Distinct reporting sources (vendor, incident response, government); open them for the underlying claims.
Exploited in the wild
Listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2022-09-14).
Probability (EPSS)
EPSS 0.05603 — modeled likelihood of exploitation activity.EPSS is a daily-changing model output — open the source for today's value.
Severity / affected
CVSS 7.8 (CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H) · Affected: Apple, iOS, iPadOS, and macOS. Confirm exact fixed builds in the vendor advisory.CVSS — CISA-assigned via the ADP container (CVE.org), version 3.1; the CNA left no metrics, so CISA's own score is used ahead of NVD.
Weakness (CWE)
Mapped to CWE-20 Improper Input Validation, CWE-787 Out-of-bounds Write — weakness family: Memory safety.CWE assignment from the public NVD record (may be stale); the weakness class drives how the flaw is exploited.
CISA SSVC (triage disposition)
Exploitation: active · Automatable: no · Technical Impact: totalCISA's own stakeholder-specific triage inputs, published in the CVE record (CISA Coordinator role). NOTE: this is CISA's three decision points; the final Act/Attend/Track decision also requires a Mission & Well-being input not published here, so no overall decision is asserted.
Currency of the record
CISA added this to its KEV catalog the same day the CVE record was published.KEV lag = CISA-KEV dateAdded − CVE.org datePublished; a floor on how long the known-exploited flaw sat in the public record before the federal catalog listed it. Severity/weakness here is CNA- or CISA-assigned (current at disclosure), independent of NVD's analysis backlog.
02
Who’s exploiting it?
— attribution turns risk into urgencyAttribution not established
No confirmed (advisory-backed) threat-actor attribution is established for this record. Absence of a named actor is not absence of compromise — see Coverage & confidence.
03
Why it matters
— the attack path, told twice: adversary, then board1
Front door — unauthenticated access narrative 1
Attacker
I craft a malicious application that exploits improper input validation in the kernel.
Business
User installs an application from an untrusted source or compromised app store listing.
2
Keys to the kingdom — privilege/identity takeover narrative 2
Attacker
I trigger a buffer overflow condition through my application to corrupt kernel memory.
Business
The device becomes unstable or crashes, disrupting user productivity.
3
Lateral reach — past segmentation narrative 3
Attacker
I execute arbitrary code with kernel privileges on the compromised device.
Business
Attacker gains complete control over the device, including access to all user data and system functions.
4
Data at risk — exfiltration narrative 4
Attacker
I persist my access by installing rootkits or modifying system components.
Business
Apple's security model is undermined; customer trust in platform security is damaged.
04
What to do
— defensible action- Remediate per the vendor advisory — confirm the fixed build for your version and verify exposure.1
Say it to the boardA vulnerability with this evidence profile is a defensible budget line, not a backlog ticket — fund the change against the proof above.
05
Coverage & confidence
— what we know, and what we don’tEstablished (cited)
Coverage gaps — stated, not hidden
Disclosure & credit2
Catalogued by appleCNA
Credited with finding itNo finder is named in the public CVE record or the scanned vendor advisory — attribution scoped to the sources checked.
Found an error? Propose a correction.
A correction is a cited counter-claim — it must cite a source,
gets reviewed by a second human, and is never auto-applied. See the
correction convention and our identity
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