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FedoraOperating system · Fedoraproject

CVE-2022-1941

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-09-22
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 3.18.3 / 3.19.5 or later.
See remediation →
84/100
Remediation priority · High
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

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 · unedited
A parsing vulnerability for the MessageSet type in the ProtocolBuffers versions prior to and including 3.16.1, 3.17.3, 3.18.2, 3.19.4, 3.20.1 and 3.21.5 for protobuf-cpp, and versions prior to and including 3.16.1, 3.17.3, 3.18.2, 3.19.4, 3.20.1 and 4.21.5 for protobuf-python can lead to out of memory failures. A specially crafted message with multiple key-value per elements creates parsing issues, and can lead to a Denial of Service against services receiving unsanitized input. We recommend upgrading to versions 3.18.3, 3.19.5, 3.20.2, 3.21.6 for protobuf-cpp and 3.18.3, 3.19.5, 3.20.2, 4.21.6 for protobuf-python. Versions for 3.16 and 3.17 are no longer updated.

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 confidence

A parsing vulnerability in ProtocolBuffers (protobuf-cpp and protobuf-python) versions prior to those specified allows specially crafted messages with multiple key-value elements per MessageSet type to cause out of memory failures, leading to Denial of Service when services receive unsanitized input.

MitigationUpgrade protobuf libraries to version 3.18.3/3.19.5/3.20.2/3.21.6 for C++ or 3.18.3/3.19.5/3.20.2/4.21.6 for Python, and sanitize or reject MessageSet input from untrusted sources.

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
FedoraOperating system
Affected:= 36= 37
Debian LinuxOperating system
Affected:= 10.0
Protobuf CppApplication
Affected:< 3.18.3>= 3.19.0, < 3.19.5>= 3.20.0, < 3.20.2>= 3.21.0, < 3.21.6
Protobuf PythonApplication
Affected:< 3.18.3>= 3.19.0, < 3.19.5>= 3.20.0, < 3.20.2>= 4.0.0, < 4.21.6

CVSS 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
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify installed Protobuf C++ version
    Run 'protoc --version' or check package manager: 'dpkg -l | grep protobuf' (Debian) or 'rpm -qa | grep protobuf' (Fedora)
    Affected if Version is < 3.18.3, or between 3.19.0-3.19.4, or between 3.20.0-3.20.1, or between 3.21.0-3.21.5
  2. Identify installed Protobuf Python version
    Run 'python3 -c "import google.protobuf; print(google.protobuf.__version__)"' or check pip: 'pip show protobuf'
    Affected if Version is < 3.18.3, or between 3.19.0-3.19.4, or between 3.20.0-3.20.1, or between 4.0.0-4.21.5
  3. Check OS distribution package versions
    For Fedora: 'cat /etc/fedora-release'. For Debian: 'cat /etc/debian_version'. Check installed package versions with 'dnf list protobuf' (Fedora) or 'apt-cache policy libprotobuf-dev' (Debian)
    Affected if Running Fedora 36 or 37, or Debian 10, with protobuf packages from the distribution repository
  4. Confirm MessageSet usage in your services
    Inspect application code and protobuf .proto definitions for 'option message_set_wire_format = true;' or runtime MessageSet parsing of untrusted input
    Affected if Your services parse MessageSet format messages from untrusted network sources

You are affected if you run any protobuf C++ version before 3.18.3, 3.19.0-3.19.4, 3.20.0-3.20.1, or 3.21.0-3.21.5, or protobuf Python version before 3.18.3, 3.19.0-3.19.4, 3.20.0-3.20.1, or 4.0.0-4.21.5, and your services accept unsanitized MessageSet input from untrusted sources.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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 · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 3.18.3 / 3.19.5 / 3.20.2 or later
Fixed in 3.18.33.19.53.20.2
Interim mitigation

Upgrade protobuf libraries to version 3.18.3/3.19.5/3.20.2/3.21.6 for C++ or 3.18.3/3.19.5/3.20.2/4.21.6 for Python, and sanitize or reject MessageSet input from untrusted sources.

Recommended fix High confidence

protobuf-cpp to 3.21.6 (or 3.20.2/3.19.5/3.18.3); protobuf-python to 4.21.6 (or 3.20.2/3.19.5/3.18.3)

  1. Identify which protobuf library is in use (protobuf-cpp or protobuf-python)
  2. Check current installed version using package manager or dependency file (e.g., pip show protobuf or pkg-config --modversion protobuf)
  3. For protobuf-cpp: upgrade to version 3.21.6 (or 3.20.2, 3.19.5, or 3.18.3 as alternative)
  4. For protobuf-python: upgrade to version 4.21.6 (or 3.20.2, 3.19.5, or 3.18.3 as alternative)
  5. Use appropriate package manager: pip install --upgrade protobuf==3.21.6 (Python) or system package manager (e.g., dnf/apt) for system packages
  6. Verify the upgrade was successful by checking the new version
  7. Restart any services or applications using protobuf to load the fixed version
  8. If using Fedora 36/37 or Debian 10, ensure the distribution's package repositories have updated protobuf packages and apply system updates
Caveat Minor: this is a security patch with bug fixes; verify compatibility with dependent applications if using older minor versions

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Fedora Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,920
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2022-1941 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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What belongs here
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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