What is CVE-2022-22656?

CVE-2022-22656 is a low-severity vulnerability in Apple macOS, classified under Improper Authentication. CVSS score: 3.3/10. Published 2022-03-18.

How severe is CVE-2022-22656?

Low severity. CVSS v3 base score is 3.3 out of 10.

Auth bypass in Apple macOS

CVE-2022-22656

An authentication issue was addressed with improved state management. This issue is fixed in macOS Big Sur 11.6.5, macOS Monterey 12.3, Security Update 2022-003 Catalina. A local attacker may be able to view the previous logged in user’s desktop from the fast user switching screen.

Vulnerability class: Broken Authentication

Published 2022-03-18 · last modified 2026-06-17.

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 3.3 (Low). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N.

EPSS exploit prediction

EPSS: 0.003 (15.8th percentile), scored 2026-10-01.

Very low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days; routine patching cadence is appropriate. 16th percentile — 15.8% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.

EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.003 · newest: 0.003 · change: 0.000

Affected products

Apple macOS — versions unspecified, 10.15.7
Apple Mac OS X — versions 10.15.7

Weakness classification (CWE)

CWE-287 — Improper Authentication

References

support.apple.com/en-us/HT213183 (Vendor Advisory)
support.apple.com/en-us/HT213184 (Vendor Advisory)
support.apple.com/en-us/HT213185 (Vendor Advisory)

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2022-22656?: CVE-2022-22656 is a low-severity vulnerability in Apple macOS, classified under Improper Authentication. CVSS score: 3.3/10. Published 2022-03-18.
How severe is CVE-2022-22656?: Low severity. CVSS v3 base score is 3.3 out of 10.