Apple Pointer Auth Bypass in iOS/macOS pre15.7.1 (CVE202248618)
CVE-2022-48618 Published on January 9, 2024
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 is aware of a report that this issue may have been exploited against versions of iOS released before iOS 15.7.1.
Known Exploited Vulnerability
This Apple Multiple Products Improper Authentication Vulnerability is part of CISA's list of Known Exploited Vulnerabilities. Apple iOS, iPadOS, macOS, tvOS, and watchOS contain an improper authentication vulnerability that allows an attacker with read and write capabilities to bypass Pointer Authentication.
The following remediation steps are recommended / required by February 21, 2024: Apply mitigations per vendor instructions or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.
Vulnerability Analysis
CVE-2022-48618 is exploitable with local system access, and requires small amount of user privileges. This vulnerability is consided to have a high level of attack complexity. This vulnerability is known to be actively exploited by threat actors. The potential impact of an exploit of this vulnerability is considered to be very high.
Weakness Type
What is a TOCTTOU Vulnerability?
The software checks the state of a resource before using that resource, but the resource's state can change between the check and the use in a way that invalidates the results of the check. This can cause the software to perform invalid actions when the resource is in an unexpected state. This weakness can be security-relevant when an attacker can influence the state of the resource between check and use. This can happen with shared resources such as files, memory, or even variables in multithreaded programs.
CVE-2022-48618 has been classified to as a TOCTTOU vulnerability or weakness.
Products Associated with CVE-2022-48618
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Affected Versions
Apple tvOS:- Version unspecified and below 16.2 is affected.
- Version unspecified and below 13.1 is affected.
- Version unspecified and below 16.2 is affected.
- Version unspecified and below 9.2 is affected.
- Before 16.2 is affected.
- Before 16.2 is affected.
- Before 16.2 is affected.
- Before 13.1 is affected.
- Before 16.2 is affected.
Exploit Probability
EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) scores estimate the probability that a vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. The percentile shows you how this score compares to all other vulnerabilities.