In May 2022, Apple quietly patched a dangerous vulnerability affecting macOS Monterey, iOS, and iPadOS. Tracked as CVE-2022-26762, this bug could let a malicious app run code with system-level privileges, giving an attacker deep control over your device. In this post, we’ll explain the vulnerability in simple terms, show you demo code to understand how this kind of bug works, walk through a possible exploitation angle, and provide links to original sources.

Overview: What is CVE-2022-26762?

This vulnerability arises from a memory corruption issue. In software systems, memory corruption happens when a program unintentionally alters memory in a way that breaks the normal flow of execution, often overwriting critical data or code. If an attacker is able to control what gets written and where, they might be able to *inject their own code* to get the device to do whatever they want.

iPadOS 15.5

If you’re on an older version, you’re vulnerable!

Official Reference

- Apple Security Update – May 16, 2022
- NVD CVE-2022-26762 entry

Technical Details

The bug lives in the way a particular Apple framework handled memory. Before the patch, a malicious app could intentionally mess with pointers (special addresses in code that tell the system where your data sits in RAM), leading the system to execute attacker-controlled instructions.

Apple’s note

> “A malicious application may be able to execute arbitrary code with system privileges. A memory corruption issue was addressed with improved memory handling.”

Arbitrary code execution: Hacker can run whatever code they want.

- System privileges: That code runs with the highest possible authority; it can read, edit, and destroy almost anything on your system.

To illustrate with a common pattern (not actual Apple code)

#include <stdio.h>
#include <string.h>

void unsafe_function(char *input) {
    char buffer[64];
    strcpy(buffer, input); // No size checks!
}

int main(int argc, char *argv[]) {
    if (argc < 2) return 1;
    unsafe_function(argv[1]);
    printf("Done!\n");
    return ;
}

*What’s wrong?*
Calling this program with a string longer than 64 characters will overwrite parts of memory it shouldn’t touch — opening a door to inject and execute bad code.

Apple's vulnerable component had a flaw similar in nature—copying or processing data without proper bounds checking, which is what enables the memory corruption.

Let’s imagine how a typical attack might work using this bug

1. Attacker builds a malicious app that triggers the memory corruption, overwriting specific control data (such as a function pointer).

The overwritten pointer now points to code the attacker controls.

3. When the system accesses the pointer (thinking it’s part of normal operation), it actually jumps to the attacker's code.

Exploit Code Concept

Below is a conceptual demonstration—don’t use this for malicious purposes!

# Simulate a payload for buffer overflow
payload = b"A" * 72           # Fill the buffer
payload += b"\xef\xbe\xad\xde" # Overwrite with a fake address (e.g., xdeadbeef)

with open("bad_input.txt", "wb") as f:
    f.write(payload)

The real CVE-2022-26762 exploit for Apple’s code would be more sophisticated, dealing with specific Apple internals, but the *principle* is the same.

How Was It Fixed?

Apple fixed this vulnerability by improving memory handling. This likely means adding proper bounds checks, validating all pointers before using them, and carefully controlling what memory can be accessed or written to.

For developers, the key lesson is: never trust user-controlled data, always check buffer sizes, and use safe functions like strncpy or modern memory-safe languages when possible.

If you use an Apple device, update to at least macOS Monterey 12.4, iOS 15.5, or iPadOS 15.5.

- Developers: Learn from this; audit your code for buffer overflows and memory corruption vulnerabilities.

References and Further Reading

- Apple Security Release Notes for 2022–05–16
- National Vulnerability Database – CVE-2022-26762
- Common Exploit Techniques: Buffer Overflows


*Stay safe! If you want to dive deeper into iOS/macOS security, check out the Apple Security Research page: https://security.apple.com/research/*

Timeline

Published on: 11/01/2022 20:15:00 UTC
Last modified on: 11/03/2022 13:16:00 UTC