CriticalCVE-2022-42856

    Apple iOS Type Confusion Vulnerability (CVE-2022-42856)

    Published In CISA KEV since Sources: CVE.org, SingCERT, Red Hat, Debian

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    What is affected, what to do

    A type confusion issue was addressed with improved state handling. This issue is fixed in Safari 16.2, tvOS 16.2, macOS Ventura 13.1, iOS 15.7.2 and iPadOS 15.7.2, iOS 16.1.2.

    The vulnerability is being actively exploited; treat it as a priority. Update Apple tvOS to version 16.2, Apple tvOS to version 13.1, Apple tvOS to version 15.7. Immediate actions, mitigation and detection rules are in the runbook below.

    Affected
    • Apple tvOS lt *..16.2
    • Apple tvOS lt *..13.1
    • Apple tvOS lt *..15.7
    • Apple tvOS lt *..16.1
    Fixed in
    • Apple tvOS 16.2
    • Apple tvOS 13.1
    • Apple tvOS 15.7
    • Apple tvOS 16.1

    Not sure whether and how you are affected? Ask a question about this vulnerability

    Metrics

    8.8

    Priority

    XIEM Effective CVSS: highest available CVSS rating from NVD and vendor data.

    Source: NVD, CVSS v3

    8.8

    CVSS v3

    Severity High on the scale from 0 to 10.

    Source: CVE.org, SingCERT, Red Hat, Debian

    8.5 %

    EPSS score

    Moderate — model estimates 1-10% exploitation likelihood.

    Source: FIRST EPSS, percentile 95.1

    Show all metrics
    Severity
    Critical
    Priority (0–325)

    The priority score is a consolidated metric that condenses several individual signals into a single, action-guiding ranking: technical severity (CVSS), exploitation likelihood (EPSS), known-exploited status (KEV) and the context of the affected asset. The aim is to answer the only truly important question in vulnerability management: what first?

    Read in glossary
    218.13 Methodology
    Exploit maturity

    An exploit is code or a technique that specifically uses a concrete vulnerability to force unintended behaviour — such as executing code or escalating privileges. It is the tool that turns a theoretical flaw into a practical attack.

    Read in glossary
    actively exploitedSource: Apple (CVE.org), CSA/SingCERT How we classify
    XIEM Effective CVSS

    XIEM® is the tiered managed-security operating model from NEOSEC and a registered trademark of NEOSEC GmbH. It extends classic SIEM — the central collection, normalisation and correlation of security-relevant events — with endpoint forensics, network visibility and deception technology, and consolidates them into three building tiers: Sentry, Orchestrate and Command.

    Read in glossary
    8.8 Methodology
    CVSS v3

    CVSS is the globally established, open standard for assessing the technical severity of a vulnerability on a scale from 0 to 10. It describes how easily a flaw can be exploited and what damage it can cause — but not how likely its actual exploitation is. CVSS and the complementary EPSS deliberately answer different questions.

    Read in glossary
    8.8
    EPSS score

    The EPSS score is the absolute model output for an individual vulnerability: the estimated probability of real-world exploitation within the next 30 days, expressed as a value between 0 and 1 (i.e. 0 % to 100 %). A score of 0.42 means „the model estimates a 42 % chance of real-world exploitation within 30 days“.

    Read in glossary
    8.5 %
    Moderate — model estimates 1-10% exploitation likelihood.
    EPSS percentile

    The EPSS percentile is the relative position of a vulnerability within all EPSS-scored CVEs, expressed as a value between 0 and 1. A percentile of 0.90 means „this CVE has a higher EPSS score than 90 % of all other scored CVEs“. Unlike the EPSS score, it is not a probability — but a positioning within a ranking.

    Read in glossary
    95.1
    Critical — this CVE ranks in the top fifth of all CVEs scored today (rank ≥ 80%).
    KEV status

    The KEV catalogue is a list maintained by the US authority CISA of vulnerabilities for which active exploitation in the wild has been confirmed. It answers not the question „how severe?“ but „is it already being attacked?“ — thereby sharply prioritising patching.

    Read in glossary
    Actively exploited
    Published
    In CISA KEV since

    The KEV catalogue is a list maintained by the US authority CISA of vulnerabilities for which active exploitation in the wild has been confirmed. It answers not the question „how severe?“ but „is it already being attacked?“ — thereby sharply prioritising patching.

    Read in glossary
    CISA assessment (SSVC)
    Exploitation: active · not automatable · Technical impact: total
    Source: CISA Vulnrichment, as of 28 January 2025
    CWE

    CWE is a catalogue of typical weakness types in software and hardware — such as flawed input validation, unsafe memory handling or poor authentication. Where a CVE names a concrete vulnerability in a concrete product, a CWE describes the underlying class of defect.

    Read in glossary
    CWE-843

    Response and mitigation

    Why act now?

    Prioritisation rationale

    This WebKit flaw is network-reachable without authentication and only requires the victim to load crafted web content. Apple reports it was used in targeted attacks against older iOS releases, which points to capable, selective operators rather than mass campaigns. CISA does not flag ransomware use, yet its exploitation likelihood still ranks among the higher tier of all CVEs. For NIS2-scope organisations, treat it as high priority across all managed Apple devices that touch corporate data, and as critical for devices belonging to exposed executives and administrators. Because the update is mature and low-risk, drive full remediation through MDM compliance enforcement within days.

    1. Runbook step 1

      Immediate response (0-24 h)

      • Inventory via MDM (Intune, Jamf, Workspace ONE, Kandji): Identify every iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple TV running an OS below the fixed builds. The fixed releases are iOS 16.1.2, iOS/iPadOS 15.7.2, macOS Ventura 13.1, Safari 16.2 (macOS Monterey/Big Sur) and tvOS 16.2.
      • Force updates: Move iOS/iPadOS to 16.1.2 or later, or to 15.7.2 for devices that must stay on iOS 15. Move macOS to Ventura 13.1, or install Safari 16.2 on older macOS releases. Push the ScheduleOSUpdate MDM command or a managed software update policy with a short deadline, and suspend any update deferrals (forceDelayedSoftwareUpdates) for this cycle.
      • High-risk users first: Patch executives, IT admins, staff with access to OT or critical-infrastructure control systems, comms/press teams and travellers to high-risk regions first. Known abuse was targeted and aimed at iOS versions prior to 15.1.
      • Isolate devices with no update path: Hardware that cannot receive iOS 15.7.2 or Safari 16.2 should be blocked from corporate resources (M365, VPN, mail) via Conditional Access and scheduled for replacement.
      • Tighten the compliance gate: Raise the minimum OS version in compliance policies to the fixed builds so non-compliant devices automatically lose access to corporate apps.

    2. Runbook step 2

      Mitigation layers

      • Endpoint hardening – Lockdown Mode: Enable it on iOS 16 and macOS Ventura for exposed individuals. Among other things it disables JavaScript JIT compilation in WebKit, which materially shrinks the attack surface typically abused by type-confusion exploits.
      • Browser layer: Every browser on iOS, including Chrome and Firefox, runs on WebKit, so switching browsers is not a mitigation; only the OS update fixes it. As a stopgap on unpatchable high-risk devices, disable JavaScript in Safari, either with the MDM restriction safariAllowJavaScript = false or manually under Settings > Safari > Advanced.
      • Network / secure web gateway: Block newly registered, uncategorised and dynamic-DNS domains for mobile devices using DNS filtering or a proxy (e.g. Defender for Endpoint Network Protection, Zscaler, Cisco Umbrella). Route mobile traffic through corporate inspection with always-on or per-app VPN.
      • Mail and messaging layer: Delivery is link-based, so enforce URL rewriting and time-of-click detonation (e.g. Safe Links) for every mail client on mobile devices.
      • IAM / least privilege: Allow sensitive roles only from compliant, managed devices by making device compliance a Conditional Access condition. Do not allow admin access from BYOD iPhones.
      • tvOS / Apple TV: Segment meeting-room units onto their own VLAN, isolated from office and server networks, with outbound traffic limited to Apple update services.

    3. Runbook step 3

      Detection rules

      • Version drift as primary signal (MDE/Intune): DeviceInfo | where OSPlatform in ("iOS","macOS") | summarize arg_max(Timestamp,*) by DeviceId | project DeviceName, OSPlatform, OSVersion. Filter the result against the fixed builds and feed it into ticketing as a daily report.
      • macOS – suspicious process ancestry (EDR / Endpoint Security Framework): Look for child processes of com.apple.WebKit.WebContent or Safari such as sh, bash, zsh, osascript, curl or python3. Sigma shape: ParentImage|endswith: '/com.apple.WebKit.WebContent' AND Image|endswith: ['/sh','/bash','/zsh','/osascript','/curl'].
      • macOS – crash clustering: Repeated com.apple.WebKit.WebContent crash reports in /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports or the unified log (log show --predicate 'process == "ReportCrash"') may indicate failed exploitation attempts. Correlate them with the preceding URL in proxy logs.
      • iOS – forensic triage on suspicion: Collect a sysdiagnose or encrypted backup from high-risk users and scan it with the Mobile Verification Toolkit (MVT) against current public IOC sets. Review unusual process names, DataUsage entries for unknown processes and anomalous Safari history.
      • Network telemetry (Zeek/proxy): Flag mobile devices that connect to first-seen domains, or use TLS on non-standard ports, shortly after a mail or messenger link click. Zeek approach: join ssl.log against a "mobile" asset tag with first_seen(server_name) < 24h.

    Detection rules

    No NEOSEC detection rule is available for this vulnerability yet.

    Classification under NIS2 and CRA

    Rule-based classification from exploitation status and severity. It does not replace a case-by-case assessment.

    NIS2

    NIS2 is EU Directive (EU) 2022/2555 to raise the level of cybersecurity across the Union. It substantially broadens obligations compared with the first NIS directive: more sectors, mandatory risk management, staged reporting duties and personal accountability of senior management.

    Read in glossary
    Actively exploited: treat the vulnerability as a priority in vulnerability handling under Art. 21(2)(e) NIS2. If it is exploited in your environment, check the reporting obligation under Art. 23 (early warning within 24 hours).
    CRA

    The CRA is EU Regulation (EU) 2024/2847 setting horizontal cybersecurity requirements for „products with digital elements“ — from industrial controllers and software to connected consumer devices. For the first time manufacturers must ensure security across the entire product lifecycle, handle vulnerabilities and provide security updates.

    Read in glossary
    Since 11.09.2026, manufacturers of affected products with digital elements must report actively exploited vulnerabilities under Art. 14 CRA, with an early warning within 24 hours via ENISA's single reporting platform.
    ISO/IEC 27001

    ISO/IEC 27001 is the internationally leading standard for an information security management system (ISMS). It describes a risk-based, process-oriented framework to systematically plan, implement, review and improve information security.

    Read in glossary
    Control A.8.8, management of technical vulnerabilities: assess relevance to your systems, plan remediation and keep evidence.

    Description

    A type confusion issue was addressed with improved state handling. This issue is fixed in Safari 16.2, tvOS 16.2, macOS Ventura 13.1, iOS 15.7.2 and iPadOS 15.7.2, iOS 16.1.2. Processing maliciously crafted web content may lead to arbitrary code execution. Apple is aware of a report that this issue may have been actively exploited against versions of iOS released before iOS 15.1..

    Source: cvelistv5, CSA/SingCERT, NVD (NIST), CISA KEV Catalog, CVE.org (MITRE), redhat_csaf, Debian Security Advisories

    Affected products

    The following versions are affected. Older releases of the same product line are also vulnerable unless stated otherwise.

    Affected products
    Affected versionsFixed in
    AppletvOS
    • < 16.1
    • < 15.7
    • < 16.2
    • < 13.1
    • 16.1
    • 15.7
    • 16.2
    • 13.1
    applesafari
    • < 16.2
    • 16.2

    Vendors and products

    Affected operating systems

    Affected operating systems
    Linuxdebianwebkit2gtkbullseye
    Linuxdebianwpewebkitbullseye
    macOSapplemacos—
    Mobileappleiphone_os—
    Otherappleipados—
    Otherappletvos—

    Weakness classes (CWE)

    • CWE-843Access of Resource Using Incompatible Type ('Type Confusion')

      Base

      The product allocates or initializes a resource such as a pointer, object, or variable using one type, but it later accesses that resource using a type that is incompatible with the original type.

      Entry at MITRE CWE-843

    Public exploit references

    Publicly reported proof-of-concepts, exploit modules and detection templates for this vulnerability. NEOSEC links to the original sources only and does not provide any exploit code.

    Public exploit references
    CISA KEV CatalogCISA Known Exploited Vulnerability (opens in a new tab)cisa.govactively exploited
    Apple (CVE.org)CVE.org (MITRE) (opens in a new tab)actively exploited
    CSA/SingCERTActive Exploitation of Zero-day Vulnerability in Apple Products (opens in a new tab)CSA/SingCERTactively exploited

    References & sources

    • support.apple.comen-us/HT213535Release notes, Vendor advisory
    • support.apple.comen-us/HT213532Release notes, Vendor advisory
    • support.apple.comen-us/HT213531Release notes, Vendor advisory
    • support.apple.comen-us/HT213516Release notes, Vendor advisory
    • support.apple.comen-us/HT213537Release notes, Vendor advisory
    • seclists.org20221220 APPLE-SA-2022-12-13-2 iOS 15.7.2 and iPadOS 15.7.2Mailing list, Mailing list, Third-party advisory
    • seclists.org20221220 APPLE-SA-2022-12-13-4 macOS Ventura 13.1Mailing list, Mailing list, Third-party advisory
    • seclists.org20221220 APPLE-SA-2022-12-13-3 iOS 16.1.2Mailing list, Mailing list, Third-party advisory
    • seclists.org20221220 APPLE-SA-2022-12-13-7 tvOS 16.2Mailing list, Mailing list, Third-party advisory
    • seclists.org20221220 APPLE-SA-2022-12-13-9 Safari 16.2Mailing list, Mailing list, Third-party advisory
    • openwall.com[oss-security] 20221226 WebKitGTK and WPE WebKit Security Advisory WSA-2022-0011Mailing list, Mailing list, Third-party advisory
    • security.gentoo.orgglsa/202305-32Third-party advisory
    • cisa.govknown-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2022-42856government-resource, US government resource
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