CVE-2022-48618
Race Condition in Apple Ipados ≤ 16.2
Raw vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:HSummary
CVE-2022-48618 is a high-severity Time-of-check Time-of-use (TOCTOU) Race Condition (CWE-367) vulnerability in Apple Ipados. Its CVSS base score is 7.0 (High).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Path Interception (T1034); ranked at the 40th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); CISA has added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog.
The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to AC-25 (Reference Monitor) and AC-3 (Access Enforcement) — see the control section below for these in your framework.
Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary
Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.
CVE-2022-48618 is a pointer authentication bypass vulnerability that was addressed through improved checks in multiple Apple operating systems. The affected releases include macOS Ventura prior to 13.1, watchOS prior to 9.2, iOS and iPadOS prior to 16.2, and tvOS prior to 16.2. The flaw is tracked under CWE-367 and carries a CVSS 3.1 score of 7.0 reflecting local attack complexity.
An attacker who already possesses arbitrary read and write primitives on a device can exploit the weakness to circumvent pointer authentication protections, potentially leading to full control over the compromised process with impacts to confidentiality, integrity, and availability.
Apple security advisories for the listed updates state that the issue was resolved by adding the improved checks and recommend installing the patches. The vendor also notes awareness of reporting that the vulnerability may have been exploited in the wild against iOS versions prior to 15.7.1.
The current EPSS score remains low at 0.0011 with no indicated upward trajectory.
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2022-51313
Vulnerability Data
The issue was addressed with improved checks. This issue is fixed in macOS Ventura 13.1, watchOS 9.2, iOS 16.2 and iPadOS 16.2, tvOS 16.2. An attacker with arbitrary read and write capability may be able to bypass Pointer Authentication. Apple…
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is aware of a report that this issue may have been exploited against versions of iOS released before iOS 15.7.1.
- CWE(s)
- KEV Date Added
- 31 January 2024
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Control response
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V15.4.2V17.2.6
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
A reference monitor that is always invoked and analyzable structurally eliminates the non-atomic check-then-use pattern underlying TOCTOU.
Access enforcement that performs an atomic check-and-use decision directly stops the window in which a TOCTOU race can be exploited.
Process isolation limits the blast radius of a successful TOCTOU exploitation but does not remove the race itself.
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 SDLC practices directly include coding standards and reviews that prevent TOCTOU race conditions.
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.
Reliable, synchronized time across systems narrows the exploitable window in which a resource state can change between a security check and its use.