CVE-2022-36944
Published: 23 September 2022
Summary
CVE-2022-36944 is a critical-severity Deserialization of Untrusted Data (CWE-502) vulnerability in Fedoraproject Fedora. Its CVSS base score is 9.8 (Critical).
Operationally, ranked in the top 1.4% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog; a public proof-of-concept is referenced.
Deeper analysis
CVE-2022-36944 is a deserialization gadget chain present in the JAR file of Scala 2.13.x releases prior to 2.13.9. The flaw stems from unsafe handling of serialized Java objects within the Scala collections library and is tracked under CWE-502. By itself the chain cannot be triggered; it only becomes reachable when an application explicitly performs Java object deserialization of untrusted data.
An attacker who can supply a crafted serialized object to such an application can invoke the chain to delete arbitrary files, open network connections, or execute attacker-controlled Function0 instances, resulting in full remote code execution. The vulnerability carries a CVSS 3.1 base score of 9.8, reflecting network-accessible, unauthenticated exploitation with high impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability.
Advisories and vendor updates direct users to upgrade to Scala 2.13.9 or later, to apply the corresponding scala-collection-compat 2.9.0 release, and to install patched Fedora packages that remove the problematic classes. The associated GitHub pull request and Lightbend discussion further recommend auditing any Akka or custom deserialization paths that consume Scala-serialized payloads.
The CVE’s EPSS score has reached a peak of 0.7356 with a current value of 0.6781, indicating sustained exploitation interest after disclosure.
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2022-6746
Vulnerability details
Scala 2.13.x before 2.13.9 has a Java deserialization chain in its JAR file. On its own, it cannot be exploited. There is only a risk in conjunction with Java object deserialization within an application. In such situations, it allows attackers…
more
to erase contents of arbitrary files, make network connections, or possibly run arbitrary code (specifically, Function0 functions) via a gadget chain.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
No named actor attribution yet. ATT&CK technique mapping in progress for this CVE.
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Likely Mitigating Controls AI
Per-CVE control mapping for this CVE has not run yet; the list below is derived from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry.
Penetration testing supplies malicious serialized objects, detecting unsafe deserialization and supporting corrective actions.
Evaluation of untrusted data handling (deserialization testing) reveals unsafe processing, which the required remediation process addresses.
Untrusted serialized data can be deserialized and observed inside the chamber, blocking gadget-chain exploitation outside the sandbox.
Validates or rejects untrusted serialized data before deserialization occurs.
Identifies and blocks malicious code introduced through deserialization of untrusted data at system boundaries.
Integrity verification of serialized information can detect tampering before deserialization occurs.
Provenance of associated data allows detection of untrusted sources before deserialization or processing occurs.