Apple’s operating system security is often considered industry-leading, but even the best platforms sometimes get hit by severe vulnerabilities. An example is CVE-2022-32944, a memory corruption flaw in the XNU kernel that could allow malicious apps to execute arbitrary code with kernel privileges—effectively granting them “god-mode” on the device.

In this article, we'll break down how this bug works, how it could be exploited, and, most importantly, what Apple did to patch it. We’ll also see a simplified proof of concept showing how attackers might approach the issue. While keeping things accessible, we’ll stick to technical accuracy and reference only trusted sources.

What is CVE-2022-32944?

According to Apple’s official advisory, CVE-2022-32944 is:

> "A memory corruption issue was addressed with improved state management. This issue is fixed in tvOS 16.1, iOS 15.7.1 and iPadOS 15.7.1, macOS Ventura 13, watchOS 9.1, iOS 16.1 and iPadOS 16, macOS Monterey 12.6.1, macOS Big Sur 11.7.1. An app may be able to execute arbitrary code with kernel privileges."

In easier words: a bug in the operating system's core (the kernel) accidentally allowed well-crafted malicious code to break out of the user sandbox and run with full system power.

Where Was the Problem?

While Apple hasn’t made all the dirty details public, the flaw lies in XNU kernel’s state management—possibly mishandling internal memory allocations or state transitions, which can lead to use-after-free or double-free scenarios. These are classic building blocks for privilege escalation exploits.

Researchers believe the vulnerability involved improper cleanup or tracking of kernel state, letting attackers trick the kernel into writing or reading outside allowed memory boundaries.

Apple TV & Watch — tvOS 16.1, watchOS 9.1 contain the fix.

If a user runs an unpatched device, any app (even one from the App Store) could theoretically hijack the operating system.

The typical exploit pattern for this kind of kernel memory corruption looks like this

1. Find a buggy API. The attacker identifies a kernel API that mishandles user input/data.
2. Craft special input. Passes carefully prepared data (sometimes with special timing to trigger race conditions).

Gain kernel privileges. The attacker uses the corrupted state to change their process rights.

Here's a simplified pseudo-code illustration, inspired by what exploit writers might try with a memory corruption bug in a kernel interface (this is *not* the actual code path for CVE-2022-32944, but an educational example):

// Hypothetical vulnerable system call handler
kern_return_t vulnerable_syscall(user_input *input) {
    kernel_object *obj = allocate_object(input->size);

    // Simulated bug: object may be freed too early
    if (input->trigger_bug) {
        free(obj);
    }

    // Later, code uses the freed object (use-after-free!)
    obj->privileged_action = 1; // Potential memory overwrite!

    return KERN_SUCCESS;
}

Sending “malicious” input with trigger_bug, causing early free.

- Exploiting the fact that obj is reused, possibly controlling its memory and hijacking function pointers or privileges.

Proof of Concept (Educational Only!)

Here’s a super-basic, high-level pseudo snippet demonstrating a hypothetical use-after-free exploit path:

// We assume kernel exposes some vulnerable API:
int fd = open("/dev/vuln", O_RDWR);
struct vuln_struct payload = { .trigger_bug = 1 };

// Step 1. Call the buggy interface
ioctl(fd, VULN_IOCTL, &payload);

// Step 2. With careful heap spraying, control next allocation
for (int i = ; i < 10000; i++) {
    spray_object_with_controlled_data("EXPLOIT_DATA");
}

// Step 3. Kernel reuses freed memory for controlled object
// Attacker may now achieve arbitrary code execution or escalate privileges

In a real scenario, the attacker would combine this technique with a kernel ROP (return-oriented programming) chain or similar strategy to run their own code as the kernel.

How Apple Fixed It

Apple's fix is simple in concept but crucial: they improved “state management” in the affected kernel component. This likely means double-checking ownership, lifetimes, and deallocation of critical objects—preventing attackers from triggering use-after-free or similar memory corruption.

watchOS: 9.1

You can see the official patch notes on Apple’s security updates page for macOS, iOS/iPadOS, tvOS, and watchOS.

References

1. Apple Security Updates: macOS Ventura 13
2. Apple Security Updates: iOS 15.7.1 and iPadOS 15.7.1
3. NVD Entry for CVE-2022-32944
4. MITRE CVE Page

In Summary

CVE-2022-32944 shows how even complex, mature operating systems like iOS and macOS can be tripped up by classic bugs like memory corruption. The risk—arbitrary code running as the kernel—is about as bad as it gets for security.

Patch your Apple devices if you haven’t already. Attacks exploiting these kinds of bugs are rare but high-impact, and patching is your best defense.

If you want to dig deeper, check the official Apple advisories and consider following researchers like @pwnallthethings or the Project Zero blog for more technical breakdowns on Apple vulns.

Timeline

Published on: 11/01/2022 20:15:00 UTC
Last modified on: 01/09/2023 16:44:00 UTC