# CVE-2022-22639: Privilege escalation in iOS and iPadOS

> An application can gain elevated privileges due to a logic issue in state management, affecting Apple iOS and macOS users.

- **Severity:** High 7.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 18 Mar 2022
- **Updated:** 3 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-v9xh-2q6g-39c5

## What is CVE-2022-22639?

CVE-2022-22639 is a high-severity vulnerability in Apple Ipados, published on 18 Mar 2022. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

A logic issue was addressed with improved state management. This issue is fixed in iOS 15.4 and iPadOS 15.4, macOS Monterey 12.3. An application may be able to gain elevated privileges.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2022-22639?

It affects 3 products.


Products: Apple Ipados, Apple Iphone Os, Apple Macos.

## How do I fix CVE-2022-22639?

No fix has been published for CVE-2022-22639 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2022-22639 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2022-22639 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Public exploit code:

- CVE-2022-22639: Get a Root Shell on macOS Monterey (github_poc): https://github.com/jhftss/CVE-2022-22639

## Other vulnerabilities in Apple Ipados

- [CVE-2025-43300](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-43300/): Apple iOS, iPadOS, and macOS Out-of-Bounds Write (critical 10.0, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2025-24201](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-24201/): Apple Multiple Products WebKit Out-of-Bounds Write (critical 10.0, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2025-24085](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-24085/): Apple Multiple Products Use-After-Free (critical 10.0, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2025-31200](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-31200/): Apple Multiple Products Memory Corruption (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2025-31201](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-31201/): Apple Multiple Products Arbitrary Read and Write (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2022-22639 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2022-22639 is a high-severity vulnerability in Apple Ipados, published on 18 Mar 2022. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2022-22639 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Apple Ipados. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-22639/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-22639/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2022-22639
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-22639
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2022-22639

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-22639/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.