CVE-2022-0517
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedMozilla VPN can load an OpenSSL configuration file from an unsecured directory. A user or attacker with limited privileges could leverage this to launch arbitrary code with SYSTEM privilege. This vulnerability affects Mozilla VPN < 2.7.1.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · high confidenceMozilla VPN versions prior to 2.7.1 load OpenSSL configuration files from an unsecured directory, allowing a low-privilege local attacker to place a malicious OpenSSL config file that executes arbitrary code with SYSTEM privileges.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data< 2.7.1CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check if Mozilla VPN is installedLook for Mozilla VPN in the list of installed applications (Windows: Programs and Features, macOS: Applications folder, or check for the Mozilla VPN service)Affected if Mozilla VPN is present on the system
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Identify the installed Mozilla VPN versionCheck the application version through the VPN client interface, or inspect the installed package/version metadata (on Windows this may be in registry or program files directory, on macOS check the app bundle info)Affected if A version number is returned from the installation
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Compare version against 2.7.1Compare the identified version number to 2.7.1 - versions are typically displayed as numeric tuples (e.g., 2.7.0, 2.6.0)Affected if The installed version is less than 2.7.1 (e.g., 2.7.0, 2.6.0, etc.)
The environment is affected if Mozilla VPN version 2.7.1 or later is not installed, since earlier versions load OpenSSL configs from directories writable by low-privilege users.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
dbcve · scoped2.7.1
Upgrade Mozilla VPN to version 2.7.1 or later. If immediate patching is not possible, restrict filesystem permissions on directories from which OpenSSL config files might be loaded to prevent unauthorized modification.
Mozilla VPN 2.7.1
- Verify current Mozilla VPN version by checking the application or system information
- Download Mozilla VPN version 2.7.1 or later from the official Mozilla VPN website or trusted distribution channel
- Close any running instances of Mozilla VPN
- Install the updated version, following the standard installation prompts
- Restart the application and verify the update was successful
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,424.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2022-0517 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2022-0517 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.
- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data