Executive brief
A vulnerability in macOS Monterey could allow a malicious application installed on a computer to interfere with the memory used by other running programs. This could lead to system instability or allow the malicious app to gain unauthorized access to sensitive information handled by other processes. Apple has released a software update to correct how the system manages shared memory states.
Technical details
A memory corruption vulnerability exists in macOS Monterey due to improper state management when handling memory shared between processes. A local attacker can exploit this by running a malicious application that manipulates shared memory regions, potentially leading to arbitrary code execution or unauthorized data access across process boundaries. The issue was resolved in macOS Monterey 12.4 by implementing more robust state management logic. While specific CVSS scores were not provided in the advisory, memory corruption in OS-level shared memory typically warrants a medium to high severity rating depending on the level of privilege escalation achieved.
Affected products
- Apple macOS Monterey Before 12.4
Timeline
- 2022-05-16: patched: Fixed in macOS Monterey 12.4 release
- 2026-06-10: advisory: NVD publication date