dbcve.org
SambaApplication

CVE-2022-2031

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-08-25
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 4.14.14 / 4.15.9 or later.
See remediation →
94/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable 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 flaw was found in Samba. The security vulnerability occurs when KDC and the kpasswd service share a single account and set of keys, allowing them to decrypt each other's tickets. A user who has been requested to change their password, can exploit this flaw to obtain and use tickets to other services.

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 · moderate confidence

This is a Samba Kerberos vulnerability where the KDC (Key Distribution Center) and kpasswd password service share a single account and cryptographic key set. This shared key arrangement allows cross-decryption of tickets between services, enabling an attacker who has received a password change request to obtain and use tickets to other services in the realm.

MitigationSeparate the KDC and kpasswd service accounts with distinct keytabs to prevent cross-decryption of Kerberos tickets. Review and implement the official Samba fix for this issue.

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
SambaApplication
Affected:< 4.14.14>= 4.15.0, < 4.15.9>= 4.16.0, < 4.16.4

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
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/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 checks

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

  1. Check installed Samba version
    Run 'samba --version' or check your package manager for the installed samba package version
    Affected if The version is < 4.14.14, between 4.15.0-4.15.8, or between 4.16.0-4.16.3
  2. Verify KDC service is configured
    Check if Samba is running as an Active Directory Domain Controller (AD DC) - look for 'server role = active directory domain controller' in smb.conf or check for kdc process running (e.g., 'samba -D' or 'sambactl status')
    Affected if Samba is running as a KDC/AD DC
  3. Verify kpasswd service is configured
    Check smb.conf for 'kpasswd server = <hostname>' or look for the kpasswd service port (464/tcp) listening - run 'netstat -tlnp | grep 464' or 'ss -tlnp | grep 464'
    Affected if The kpasswd service is enabled and listening
  4. Check for shared keytab configuration
    Examine the system keytab files (typically /etc/krb5.keytab or /usr/local/samba/private/secrets.keytab) and look for multiple service principal names (SPNs) associated with the same account - use 'ktutil list' or 'klist -ket' to inspect keys
    Affected if The same principal/account is used for both the KDC (krbtgt/) and kpasswd (kpasswd/) services in the keytab

If your Samba version falls within the affected ranges AND both the KDC and kpasswd services are running with a shared keytab (same krbtgt and kpasswd principal), your environment is vulnerable to CVE-2022-2031.

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 4.14.14 / 4.15.9 / 4.16.4 or later
Fixed in 4.14.144.15.94.16.4
Interim mitigation

Separate the KDC and kpasswd service accounts with distinct keytabs to prevent cross-decryption of Kerberos tickets. Review and implement the official Samba fix for this issue.

Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to Samba 4.14.14 (if on 4.13 or earlier), 4.15.9 (if on 4.15.x), or 4.16.4 (if on 4.16.x); ideally upgrade to the latest stable release in the newest supported branch

  1. Check the current Samba version using 'samba --version' or 'rpm -q samba' / 'dpkg -l samba'
  2. Identify which affected version branch is currently in use (4.13.x/4.14.x, 4.15.x, or 4.16.x)
  3. For systems on Samba < 4.14: upgrade to Samba 4.14.14 or later
  4. For systems on Samba 4.15.x: upgrade to Samba 4.15.9 or later
  5. For systems on Samba 4.16.x: upgrade to Samba 4.16.4 or later
  6. Verify the upgrade was successful by checking 'samba --version' again
  7. Restart Samba services (smbd, nmbd, winbindd) to load the fixed code
  8. Test Kerberos authentication and password change functionality to confirm proper operation
Caveat Standard Samba upgrade considerations apply: review release notes for any changes in default settings, protocol compatibility, or feature behavior; test in staging before production deployment

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

Fix this in Samba Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
21.0 hours of engineering $3,680
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,888.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2022-2031 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2022-2031 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

What this is

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.

What belongs here
  • 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