Apple iOS/iPadOS up to 15.5 ImageIO null pointer dereference

CVSS Meta Temp Score CVSS is a standardized scoring system to determine possibilities of attacks. The Temp Score considers temporal factors like disclosure, exploit and countermeasures. The unique Meta Score calculates the average score of different sources to provide a normalized scoring system.	Current Exploit Price (≈) Our analysts are monitoring exploit markets and are in contact with vulnerability brokers. The range indicates the observed or calculated exploit price to be seen on exploit markets. A good indicator to understand the monetary effort required for and the popularity of an attack.	CTI Interest Score Our Cyber Threat Intelligence team is monitoring different web sites, mailing lists, exploit markets and social media networks. The CTI Interest Score identifies the interest of attackers and the security community for this specific vulnerability in real-time. A high score indicates an elevated risk to be targeted for this vulnerability.
4.8	$0-$5k	0.00

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability, which was classified as problematic, was found in Apple iOS and iPadOS up to 15.5. This vulnerability affects unknown code of the component ImageIO. Executing a manipulation can lead to null pointer dereference. The identification of this vulnerability is CVE-2022-32785. The attack may be launched remotely. There is no exploit available. You should upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability classified as problematic was found in Apple iOS and iPadOS up to 15.5 (Smartphone Operating System). This vulnerability affects some unknown functionality of the component ImageIO. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a null pointer dereference vulnerability. The CWE definition for the vulnerability is CWE-476. A NULL pointer dereference occurs when the application dereferences a pointer that it expects to be valid, but is NULL, typically causing a crash or exit. As an impact it is known to affect availability. CVE summarizes:

A null pointer dereference was addressed with improved validation. This issue is fixed in iOS 15.6 and iPadOS 15.6, Security Update 2022-005 Catalina, macOS Big Sur 11.6.8, macOS Monterey 12.5. Processing an image may lead to a denial-of-service.

The weakness was shared 07/20/2022 by Yiğit Can Yilmaz as HT213346 as confirmed advisory (Website). The advisory is shared for download at support.apple.com. This vulnerability was named CVE-2022-32785. Successful exploitation requires user interaction by the victim. There are neither technical details nor an exploit publicly available. The current price for an exploit might be approx. USD $0-$5k (estimation calculated on 05/23/2025). It is expected to see the exploit prices for this product increasing in the near future. The advisory points out:

Processing an image may lead to a denial-of-service

Upgrading to version 15.6 eliminates this vulnerability. A possible mitigation has been published immediately after the disclosure of the vulnerability. The advisory contains the following remark:

A null pointer dereference was addressed with improved validation.

The vulnerability is also documented in the vulnerability database at EUVD (EUVD-2022-35851). Once again VulDB remains the best source for vulnerability data.

Productinfo

Type

Smartphone Operating System

Vendor

Apple

Name

Version

License

commercial

Website

Vendor: https://www.apple.com/

CPE 2.3info

CPE 2.2info

CVSSv4info

VulDB Vector: 🔍
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv3info

VulDB Meta Base Score: 4.9
VulDB Meta Temp Score: 4.8

VulDB Base Score: 4.3
VulDB Temp Score: 4.1
VulDB Vector: 🔍
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

NVD Base Score: 5.5
NVD Vector: 🔍

CVSSv2info

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Vector	Complexity	Authentication	Confidentiality	Integrity	Availability
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VulDB Base Score: 🔍
VulDB Temp Score: 🔍
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

Exploitinginfo

Class: Null pointer dereference
CWE: CWE-476 / CWE-404
CAPEC: 🔍
ATT&CK: 🔍

Physical: Partially
Local: Yes
Remote: Yes

Availability: 🔍
Status: Not defined

EPSS Score: 🔍
EPSS Percentile: 🔍

Price Prediction: 🔍
Current Price Estimation: 🔍

0-Day	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock
Today	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock

Threat Intelligenceinfo

Interest: 🔍
Active Actors: 🔍
Active APT Groups: 🔍

Countermeasuresinfo

Recommended: Upgrade
Status: 🔍

Reaction Time: 🔍
0-Day Time: 🔍
Exposure Time: 🔍

Upgrade: iOS/iPadOS 15.6

Timelineinfo

06/09/2022 🔍
07/20/2022 +41 days 🔍
07/20/2022 +0 days 🔍
07/21/2022 +1 days 🔍
05/23/2025 +1037 days 🔍

Sourcesinfo

Vendor: apple.com

Advisory: HT213346
Researcher: Yiğit Can Yilmaz
Status: Confirmed

CVE: CVE-2022-32785 (🔍)
GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-2022-32785
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-204724
EUVD: 🔍
scip Labs: https://www.scip.ch/en/?labs.20150917

Entryinfo

Created: 07/21/2022 16:30
Updated: 05/23/2025 03:50
Changes: 07/21/2022 16:30 (19), 07/21/2022 16:33 (28), 08/16/2022 09:15 (1), 05/22/2025 23:09 (15), 05/23/2025 03:50 (13)
Complete: 🔍
Cache ID: 216::103