Privilege escalation in Apple macOS
CVE-2022-3421
An attacker can pre-create the `/Applications/Google\ Drive.app/Contents/MacOS` directory which is expected to be owned by root to be owned by a non-root user. When the Drive for Desktop installer is run for the first time, it will place a binary in that directory with execute permissions and set its setuid bit. Since the attacker owns the directory, the attacker can replace the binary with a symlink, causing the installer to set the setuid bit on the symlink. When the symlink is executed, it will run with root permissions. We recommend upgrading past version 64.0
Published · last modified .
CVSS v3 metric
CVSS v3 base score 5.6 (Medium). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:L.
EPSS exploit prediction
EPSS: 0.001 (1.6th percentile), scored .
Very low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days; routine patching cadence is appropriate. 2nd percentile — 1.6% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.
EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.001 · newest: 0.001 · change: +0.000
Affected products
- Apple macOS
- Google Drive
- Google Llc Drive For Desktop macOS — versions unspecified
Weakness classification (CWE)
Public proof-of-concept exploits
References
- support.google.com/a/answer/7577057 (Release Notes, Vendor Advisory)
Frequently asked questions
- What is CVE-2022-3421?
- CVE-2022-3421 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Apple macOS, classified under CWE-264. CVSS score: 5.6/10. Published 2022-10-17.
- How severe is CVE-2022-3421?
- Medium severity. CVSS v3 base score is 5.6 out of 10.
- Is CVE-2022-3421 known to be exploited?
- 2 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed. Not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.