CVE-2022-26760 - How a Memory Corruption Flaw in iOS 15 Allowed Privilege Escalation

Apple’s ecosystem is known for its security, but that doesn’t make it immune to critical vulnerabilities. One such bug, tracked as CVE-2022-26760, was discovered and patched in iOS 15.5 and iPadOS 15.5. In this article, we’ll break down the issue, show a simple code snippet illustrating the problem, discuss its impact, and link to original sources.

Issue: Memory Corruption

- Fixed In: iOS/iPadOS 15.5

CVE-2022-26760 was a memory corruption vulnerability in iOS and iPadOS. Apple stated

> "A memory corruption issue was addressed with improved state management. A malicious application may be able to elevate privileges."
> — Apple Release Notes

In simple terms, if a rogue app exploited this bug, it might break out of its sandbox and gain more control over your device than it should.

How Did It Work?

The exact technical details were not fully published by Apple for security. But based on similar "memory corruption" bugs, it's likely that improper handling of application state—such as dangling pointers or use-after-free situations—could be exploited.

Here’s an illustrative code snippet (not the actual Apple code, but conceptually similar)

// Hypothetical vulnerable code
char *buffer = allocate_buffer(256);
// ... some state change
free(buffer);
// ... Meanwhile, old reference is still used
strcpy(buffer, "important data"); // Use-after-free!

A smart attacker could abuse this condition to execute malicious code with higher privileges.

Exploit Possibility

A working exploit for this exact bug hasn’t been made public (understandable, since it allows privilege escalation). However, here’s what a typical workflow would look like:

1. Malicious app triggers the memory corruption by causing the system to improperly manage object state.

Further exploitation or persistence

Important:
This bug was fixed silently, and Apple users who upgraded to iOS 15.5 are protected. If you are running anything earlier, you should update now.

Conclusion

CVE-2022-26760 shows how just a small memory management bug can have a big security impact. Apple addressed this by improving state management in iOS and iPadOS 15.5. There’s no excuse not to update your devices—these patches keep your information safe.

Keep your devices up to date and keep an eye out for official advisories to stay protected from privilege escalation bugs like this one.

Timeline

Published on: 02/27/2023 20:15:00 UTC
Last modified on: 03/07/2023 20:24:00 UTC