Apple watchOS up to 8.6 Apple Neural Engine Local Privilege Escalation

CVSS Meta Temp Score
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CTI Interest Score
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7.6$0-$5k0.00

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability was found in Apple watchOS up to 8.6. It has been classified as critical. The impacted element is an unknown function of the component Apple Neural Engine. Performing a manipulation results in an unknown weakness. This vulnerability was named CVE-2022-32840. The attack needs to be approached locally. There is no available exploit. Upgrading the affected component is recommended.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in Apple watchOS up to 8.6 (Smartwatch Operating System). It has been classified as critical. This affects an unknown code block of the component Apple Neural Engine. This is going to have an impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The summary by CVE is:

This issue was addressed with improved checks. This issue is fixed in macOS Monterey 12.5, watchOS 8.7, iOS 15.6 and iPadOS 15.6. An app may be able to execute arbitrary code with kernel privileges.

The weakness was presented 07/20/2022 by Mohamed Ghannam as HT213340 as confirmed advisory (Website). It is possible to read the advisory at support.apple.com. This vulnerability is uniquely identified as CVE-2022-32840. The technical details are unknown and an exploit is not publicly available. The advisory points out:

An app may be able to execute arbitrary code with kernel privileges

Upgrading to version 8.7 eliminates this vulnerability. A possible mitigation has been published immediately after the disclosure of the vulnerability. The advisory contains the following remark:

This issue was addressed with improved checks.

Be aware that VulDB is the high quality source for vulnerability data.

Productinfo

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Website

CPE 2.3info

CPE 2.2info

CVSSv4info

VulDB Vector: 🔍
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv3info

VulDB Meta Base Score: 7.8
VulDB Meta Temp Score: 7.6

VulDB Base Score: 7.8
VulDB Temp Score: 7.5
VulDB Vector: 🔍
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

NVD Base Score: 7.8
NVD Vector: 🔍

CVSSv2info

AVACAuCIA
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VectorComplexityAuthenticationConfidentialityIntegrityAvailability
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VulDB Base Score: 🔍
VulDB Temp Score: 🔍
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

Exploitinginfo

Class: Local Privilege Escalation
CWE: Unknown
CAPEC: 🔍
ATT&CK: 🔍

Physical: Partially
Local: Yes
Remote: Partially

Availability: 🔍
Status: Not defined

EPSS Score: 🔍
EPSS Percentile: 🔍

Price Prediction: 🔍
Current Price Estimation: 🔍

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Threat Intelligenceinfo

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

Countermeasuresinfo

Recommended: Upgrade
Status: 🔍

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

Upgrade: watchOS 8.7

Timelineinfo

06/09/2022 🔍
07/20/2022 +41 days 🔍
07/20/2022 +0 days 🔍
07/21/2022 +1 days 🔍
05/29/2025 +1043 days 🔍

Sourcesinfo

Vendor: apple.com

Advisory: HT213340
Researcher: Mohamed Ghannam
Status: Confirmed

CVE: CVE-2022-32840 (🔍)
GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-2022-32840
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-204783

Entryinfo

Created: 07/21/2022 22:20
Updated: 05/29/2025 23:21
Changes: 07/21/2022 22:20 (18), 07/21/2022 22:23 (27), 08/16/2022 14:20 (1), 05/29/2025 23:21 (26)
Complete: 🔍
Cache ID: 216::103

Be aware that VulDB is the high quality source for vulnerability data.

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