CVE-2022-32892 is a medium-severity vulnerability affecting Apple macOS and related operating systems such as iOS and iPadOS. The vulnerability stems from an access control issue within the sandboxing mechanism used by Apple to isolate processes and restrict their capabilities. Specifically, a sandboxed process—intended to be confined with limited privileges—may be able to circumvent these sandbox restrictions, potentially allowing it to perform actions beyond its intended scope. This could lead to unauthorized modification or interference with system components or other processes, impacting system integrity. The vulnerability was addressed through improvements to the sandbox implementation and fixed in Safari 16, iOS 15.7, iPadOS 15.7, iOS 16, and macOS Ventura 13. The CVSS v3.1 base score is 4.7, reflecting a medium severity level, with the vector indicating that exploitation requires local access (AV:L), high attack complexity (AC:H), no privileges required (PR:N), user interaction required (UI:R), unchanged scope (S:U), no confidentiality impact (C:N), high integrity impact (I:H), and no availability impact (A:N). There are no known exploits in the wild at the time of publication. The vulnerability primarily threatens the integrity of the system by allowing sandboxed processes to bypass restrictions, which could facilitate unauthorized code execution or privilege escalation within the local environment. Since the attack vector is local and requires user interaction, exploitation is limited to scenarios where an attacker can trick a user into running malicious code or where a malicious app is installed locally. The vulnerability affects unspecified versions of macOS and related Apple operating systems prior to the patched releases.

For European organizations, this vulnerability poses a moderate risk primarily to environments heavily reliant on Apple macOS and iOS devices, such as enterprises with a significant Apple device footprint or sectors where Apple products are standard (e.g., creative industries, education, and certain government agencies). The ability for a sandboxed process to bypass restrictions could allow attackers to escalate privileges or manipulate system integrity, potentially leading to unauthorized access to sensitive data or disruption of critical workflows. While the vulnerability does not directly impact confidentiality or availability, the integrity compromise could facilitate further attacks, including malware persistence or lateral movement within networks. Given the requirement for local access and user interaction, the threat is more relevant in scenarios involving social engineering, malicious insider activity, or supply chain compromises introducing malicious applications. Organizations with strict endpoint security policies and user awareness programs may mitigate the risk, but those with less mature controls could be more vulnerable. The impact is heightened in sectors with stringent regulatory requirements around data integrity and system security, such as finance, healthcare, and public administration within Europe.

To mitigate this vulnerability effectively, European organizations should prioritize timely patching of all affected Apple devices by upgrading to Safari 16, iOS 15.7/iPadOS 15.7, iOS 16, and macOS Ventura 13 or later versions where the fix is applied. Beyond patching, organizations should enforce strict application control policies to prevent installation or execution of untrusted or unsigned applications, reducing the risk of malicious sandboxed processes. Implementing endpoint detection and response (EDR) solutions capable of monitoring for anomalous sandbox escape behaviors can provide early detection of exploitation attempts. User training should emphasize the risks of executing unknown or suspicious applications and the importance of avoiding social engineering traps that could lead to local code execution. Additionally, organizations should review and tighten sandbox policies and permissions where possible, limiting the capabilities of sandboxed processes to the minimum necessary. Regular audits of device compliance and configuration management will help ensure that vulnerable systems are identified and remediated promptly. For managed Apple environments, leveraging Mobile Device Management (MDM) solutions to enforce patch deployment and security configurations is recommended.