CVE-2022-32786 is a medium-severity vulnerability affecting Apple macOS operating systems, including macOS Catalina (Security Update 2022-005), Big Sur 11.6.8, and Monterey 12.5. The vulnerability arises from improper handling and insufficient validation of environment variables by the operating system. This flaw could allow a malicious application to modify protected parts of the file system that are normally restricted, potentially leading to unauthorized changes to system files or configurations. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-20, which relates to improper input validation. Exploitation requires local access (attack vector: local), no privileges are required (PR:N), but user interaction is necessary (UI:R). The impact is primarily on integrity (I:H), with no direct confidentiality or availability impact. The CVSS v3.1 base score is 5.5, reflecting a medium severity level. Apple has addressed this issue by improving environment variable validation in the specified security updates. There are no known exploits in the wild at this time. The vulnerability could be leveraged by attackers to escalate privileges or persist on a compromised system by altering protected system files, potentially undermining system stability and security controls.

For European organizations, this vulnerability poses a risk primarily to endpoints running affected macOS versions. If exploited, attackers could modify critical system files, potentially enabling persistence mechanisms, privilege escalation, or tampering with security configurations. This could lead to compromised integrity of systems, making detection and remediation more difficult. Organizations relying on macOS devices for sensitive operations, development, or administrative tasks could face increased risk of targeted attacks or insider threats exploiting this flaw. Given the medium severity and requirement for local access and user interaction, the threat is more relevant in scenarios where attackers have some foothold or social engineering capabilities. The impact on confidentiality and availability is limited, but integrity compromises could have cascading effects on trustworthiness of systems and data. Organizations in sectors with high macOS usage, such as creative industries, software development, and certain government or research institutions, may be more affected.

European organizations should ensure all macOS devices are promptly updated to the latest security patches, specifically Security Update 2022-005 for Catalina, 11.6.8 for Big Sur, and 12.5 for Monterey or later. Beyond patching, organizations should implement strict application control policies to limit installation and execution of untrusted or unsigned applications that could exploit environment variable handling. Endpoint protection solutions should be configured to monitor and alert on unauthorized modifications to protected file system areas. User training to recognize and avoid social engineering attempts that could lead to execution of malicious apps is critical, given the requirement for user interaction. Additionally, employing least privilege principles and restricting local user permissions can reduce the risk of exploitation. Regular integrity checks of system files and configurations can help detect unauthorized changes early. For managed environments, leveraging Mobile Device Management (MDM) solutions to enforce patch compliance and application restrictions is recommended.