In mid-2022, Apple quietly patched a significant security flaw in macOS with Security Update 2022-004 Catalina, macOS Monterey 12.4, and macOS Big Sur 11.6.6. This vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2022-32794, was caused by a logic error involving state management. Left unpatched, it could allow a malicious app to gain elevated privileges — a big deal for system security. Let’s break down what happened, how it worked, and how you can protect yourself.

What is CVE-2022-32794?

CVE-2022-32794 is an identifier for a publicly disclosed computer security flaw. According to Apple’s own advisory:

> “A logic issue was addressed with improved state management. An app may be able to gain elevated privileges.”

In plain English: A bug in the way macOS kept track of its internal state meant that a rogue application could trick the operating system and get access to more than it should — potentially even “root” or administrator-level control.

macOS Big Sur 11.6.6

If your Mac is up-to-date after June 2022, you’re safe. If not, it’s time to update!

How Did the Exploit Work?

The official details are sparse, but we know from community writeups and typical Apple privilege elevation bugs that incorrect state management can allow attackers to bypass permission checks.

Imagine This

Think about a process on macOS that temporarily gives itself more privileges to perform a system task. If the logic that lowers its privilege back down is flawed, an attacker could:

The system gets “confused” and leaves the process with higher privileges than it should.

This is a classic “state management” bug: the OS loses track of who should have which permissions, and an attacker can sneak through.

Suppose a macOS daemon changes user IDs like this

// Pseudo-code for demonstration only!
setuid();           // Gain root privileges
do_sensitive_task(); // Do something only root should do
setuid(userID);      // Supposed to drop back to normal

If an attacker finds a bug that diverts the flow _after_ setuid() but _before_ setuid(userID), they could stay with root privileges and do whatever they want on your Mac.

Is There a Public Exploit?

As of June 2024, there are no known public working exploits for CVE-2022-32794. Apple usually keeps a tight lid on details, at least for a while after patching, so attackers can’t easily reproduce the problem.

But whenever Apple says, “An app may be able to gain elevated privileges,” this is serious. An attacker could use such a flaw for:

Security Update 2022-004 Catalina or later

To check, click the Apple menu -> About This Mac.

Update your Mac: Go to *System Preferences* > *Software Update* and install the latest updates!

2. Be careful about apps you run: Only install trusted apps from the official App Store whenever possible.

References

- Apple Security Updates for macOS
- NIST NVD page for CVE-2022-32794
- macOS Security Guide (Apple)
- Principle of Least Privilege (Wikipedia)

Conclusion

CVE-2022-32794 was a state management bug in macOS that could have let rogue apps grab more power than they should. Apple fixed it quick, but it’s a textbook reminder: keep your systems updated and be careful with what you install.

If you found this helpful, share it with other Mac users! Stay safe, and keep those updates rolling in.

Timeline

Published on: 11/01/2022 20:15:00 UTC
Last modified on: 11/03/2022 13:37:00 UTC