# CVE-2022-42788: Missing authorization in macOS

> A malicious application can read sensitive location information due to insufficient permission validation in macOS.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N`)
- **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:** 1 Nov 2022
- **Updated:** 5 May 2025
- **Also known as:** GHSA-98q5-67c3-cpjc

## What is CVE-2022-42788?

CVE-2022-42788 is a medium-severity missing authorization vulnerability in Apple Macos, published on 1 Nov 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 permissions issue existed. This issue was addressed with improved permission validation. This issue is fixed in macOS Ventura 13. A malicious application may be able to read sensitive location information.

Weakness: CWE-863 (Incorrect Authorization)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2022-42788?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Apple Macos.

## How do I fix CVE-2022-42788?

No fix has been published for CVE-2022-42788 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2022-42788 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2022-42788 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Apple Macos

- [CVE-2026-65400](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-65400/): Apple macOS Improper Authentication (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2024-44146](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-44146/): Security feature bypass in macOS (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2024-44148](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-44148/): Security feature bypass in macOS (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2023-38586](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-38586/): Security feature bypass in macOS (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2023-40455](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-40455/): Security feature bypass in macOS (critical 10.0)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2022-42788 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2022-42788 is a medium-severity missing authorization vulnerability in Apple Macos, published on 1 Nov 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-2022-42788 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Apple Macos. 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-2022-42788/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-42788/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2022-42788
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-42788
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2022-42788

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-42788/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.