Raw vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:NSummary
CVE-2022-22674 is a medium-severity Out-of-bounds Read (CWE-125) vulnerability in Apple Mac Os X. Its CVSS base score is 5.5 (Medium).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploitation for Privilege Escalation (T1068); ranked in the top 36% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; CISA has added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog.
Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary
Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.
An out-of-bounds read vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2022-22674 and assigned CWE-125, affects the kernel on Apple macOS systems. The flaw permits disclosure of kernel memory contents due to insufficient input validation and carries a CVSS 3.1 score of 5.5 reflecting local access requirements. It is resolved in macOS Monterey 12.3.1, Security Update 2022-004 Catalina, and macOS Big Sur 11.6.6.
A local user with a valid account on an affected macOS host can trigger the condition to read arbitrary kernel memory without user interaction or elevated privileges beyond standard local access. This information disclosure could expose sensitive kernel data structures that aid further attacks, though the vulnerability itself does not permit direct code execution or privilege escalation.
Apple security advisories HT213220, HT213255, and HT213256 confirm the issue is fixed through improved input validation in the listed macOS releases and direct administrators to install the updates to eliminate the exposure. The current EPSS score of 0.0022 indicates limited observed exploitation interest.
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2022-27819
Vulnerability Data
An out-of-bounds read issue existed that led to the disclosure of kernel memory. This was addressed with improved input validation. This issue is fixed in macOS Monterey 12.3.1, Security Update 2022-004 Catalina, macOS Big Sur 11.6.6. A local user may…
more
be able to read kernel memory.
- CWE(s)
- KEV Date Added
- 04 April 2022
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI
Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.
Secure-development practices such as bounds checking and memory-safe languages directly prevent out-of-bounds reads.
Vulnerability scanning and recording can discover instances of out-of-bounds reads after code is deployed.
Routine patching replaces vulnerable code containing out-of-bounds read flaws.
Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI
Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.
Security testing in development and acceptance includes fuzzing and static analysis that detect out-of-bounds read defects before release.
Logging can record evidence of an out-of-bounds read but does not prevent the weakness itself.
Secure development life cycle mandates input validation and bounds checking that directly prevent out-of-bounds reads.
Application security requirements include explicit bounds and memory-safety specifications that mitigate buffer over-reads.
Secure system architecture and engineering principles require memory-safe design patterns and runtime protections against out-of-bounds access.
Secure coding standards explicitly forbid unsafe pointer arithmetic and mandate bounds-checked reads, eliminating CWE-125.