CVE-2022-32918

Privacy preference bypass via undisclosed Photos flaw

Published Nov 1, 2022 · Updated May 6, 2025

Improper access control in Photos in Apple macOS before 13 allows local users to bypass Privacy preferences through a malicious app. Apple identifies the Photos component and improved data protection but has not published the faulty operation that permits the bypass. The gate is local execution of the app plus user interaction; no network-only path or direct data disclosure is reported.

CVSS severity5.5
Medium
EPSS probability0.22%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Improper access control in Photos in Apple macOS before 13 allows local users to bypass Privacy preferences through a malicious app. Apple identifies the Photos component and improved data protection but has not published the faulty operation that permits the bypass. The gate is local execution of the app plus user interaction; no network-only path or direct data disclosure is reported.

The record

CVE
CVE-2022-32918
Published
Nov 1, 2022
Updated
May 6, 2025
Vendor
Apple
Product
macOS
Classifications
CWE-284, T1203
Attack vector
local
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Nov 1, 2022CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. May 6, 2025Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

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

  1. Affected versionversion=unspecified <13
  2. Affected versionversion=unspecified <16

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

Apple · macOSversion=unspecified <13; version=unspecified <16

Published CVSS scores

5.5NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N
5.5CISA-ADPCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:H/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 exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-284Improper Access Control
T1203Exploitation for Client Execution

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

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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