CVE-2022-46343
Published: 14 December 2022
Summary
CVE-2022-46343 is a high-severity Use After Free (CWE-416) vulnerability in Redhat Enterprise Linux. Its CVSS base score is 8.8 (High).
Operationally, ranked in the top 22.0% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
Deeper analysis
CVE-2022-46343 is a use-after-free vulnerability (CWE-416) in the X.Org X server. The flaw exists in the handler for the ScreenSaverSetAttributes request, which can write to memory after it has been freed. The issue affects X.Org components running on systems where the X server operates with elevated privileges.
An attacker with local or network access, depending on configuration, can trigger the flaw to achieve local privilege escalation when the X server runs privileged, or remote code execution in ssh X forwarding sessions. The vulnerability carries a CVSS 3.1 score of 8.8 with network attack vector, low complexity, and no user interaction required.
Red Hat and Fedora advisories reference the CVE and distribute updated packages that address the issue in affected X.Org releases. The EPSS score rose from a low baseline after disclosure to a peak of 0.3933 on 2025-01-22 before receding to the current value of 0.0106, indicating that exploitation interest emerged well after the initial publication.
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2022-49159
Vulnerability details
A vulnerability was found in X.Org. This security flaw occurs because the handler for the ScreenSaverSetAttributes request may write to memory after it has been freed. This issue can lead to local privileges elevation on systems where the X server…
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is running privileged and remote code execution for ssh X forwarding sessions.
- 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.