CVE-2022-46342
Published: 14 December 2022
Summary
CVE-2022-46342 is a high-severity Use After Free (CWE-416) vulnerability in Redhat Enterprise Linux. Its CVSS base score is 8.8 (High).
Operationally, ranked at the 33.8th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
Deeper analysis
A use-after-free vulnerability exists in the X.Org X server, specifically in the handler for the XvdiSelectVideoNotify request, which can write to memory after it has been freed. The flaw is tracked as CWE-416 and carries a CVSS 3.1 score of 8.8; it affects the X.Org component on systems that expose the X server and can result in local privilege escalation.
An attacker with the ability to send requests to the X server, such as a local user or a remote client when X11 is accessible over the network, can trigger the handler to perform operations on freed memory. Successful exploitation grants the attacker elevated privileges on the affected system, potentially allowing full control of the host.
Red Hat and Fedora advisories direct users to apply the latest packaged updates for the xorg-x11-server component, which contain the fixes for this issue. The EPSS score for the CVE rose sharply from a low baseline to a peak of 0.3933 on 2025-01-22 before receding, indicating that exploitation interest increased well after initial disclosure.
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2022-49158
Vulnerability details
A vulnerability was found in X.Org. This security flaw occurs because the handler for the XvdiSelectVideoNotify request may write to memory after it has been freed. This issue can lead to local privileges elevation on systems where the X se
- 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.
Use-after-free exploits that achieve arbitrary code execution are blocked or significantly hardened by non-executable pages and ASLR.