CVE-2022-22616Public exploit

Gatekeeper bypass via unquarantined ZIP application bundles

Published May 26, 2022 · Updated Aug 3, 2024

Gatekeeper bypass in Apple macOS Catalina, Big Sur before 11.6.5, and Monterey before 12.3 lets attackers evade checks via a crafted ZIP. BOM parsing leaves the reconstructed application bundle without the quarantine attribute that triggers Gatekeeper, even though nested content is tagged. A user must download, extract, and launch the archive; unsigned or unnotarized code then runs without a Gatekeeper prompt.

CVSS severity5.5
Medium
EPSS probability7.93%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Gatekeeper bypass in Apple macOS Catalina, Big Sur before 11.6.5, and Monterey before 12.3 lets attackers evade checks via a crafted ZIP. BOM parsing leaves the reconstructed application bundle without the quarantine attribute that triggers Gatekeeper, even though nested content is tagged. A user must download, extract, and launch the archive; unsigned or unnotarized code then runs without a Gatekeeper prompt.

The record

CVE
CVE-2022-22616
Published
May 26, 2022
Updated
Aug 3, 2024
Vendor
Apple
Product
macOS
Classifications
T1204.002, T1553.001
Attack vector
local
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. May 26, 2022CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 3, 2024Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

Compare your product and version with the public record. A matching version still requires validation against your environment.

Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=unspecified <11.6
  2. Affected versionversion=unspecified <12.3
  3. Affected versionversion=unspecified <2022

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

Apple · macOSversion=unspecified <11.6; version=unspecified <12.3; version=unspecified <2022

Published CVSS scores

5.5NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N
4.3NIST NVDAV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:N/I:P/A:N

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesunauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitPublished

Weakness, pattern, technique

T1204.002User Execution: Malicious File
T1553.001Subvert Trust Controls: Gatekeeper Bypass

Public exploit references

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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