CVE-2022-2332
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 · uneditedA local unprivileged attacker may escalate to administrator privileges in Honeywell SoftMaster version 4.51, due to insecure permission assignment.
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 confidenceLocal privilege escalation vulnerability in Honeywell SoftMaster version 4.51 allows an unprivileged local attacker to gain administrator privileges due to insecure permission assignment on the system.
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= 4.51CVSS 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.
-
Identify SoftMaster installationSearch for Honeywell SoftMaster installation directories (commonly in C:\Program Files\Honeywell or C:\Program Files (x86)\Honeywell), check Windows Registry under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall for entries containing 'SoftMaster', or list installed programs via Programs and FeaturesAffected if Honeywell SoftMaster is found installed on the system
-
Verify the installed versionLocate the SoftMaster executable (typically sm.exe, softmaster.exe, or similar in the installation folder) and check its properties for the version number, or query the version via command line using 'dir' or PowerShell Get-ItemItem on the main executableAffected if The installed version is exactly 4.51
-
Examine file system permissions on the installation directoryRight-click the SoftMaster installation folder, go to Properties > Security, and review the permissions. Use icacls.exe from command prompt (e.g., icacls "C:\Program Files\Honeywell\SoftMaster") to list all granted permissionsAffected if Users without administrator privileges have Write, Modify, or Full Control permissions on the SoftMaster directory or its executables
-
Check service configuration and permissionsOpen Services console (services.msc), locate any SoftMaster service, right-click and select Properties. Check the executable path and the 'Log on as' account. Use sc qc softmasterservice to query service configuration if the service name is knownAffected if The service runs with elevated privileges (LocalSystem, Local Service, or a privileged domain/local account) and non-admin users have permission to modify the service binary or configuration
-
Review service binary permissionsUse icacls.exe on the service executable pointed to by the service configuration to verify which users can write to or modify the binary fileAffected if Non-administrative users have Write or Modify permissions to the service executable, allowing them to replace it with malicious code
The system is affected if Honeywell SoftMaster version 4.51 is installed AND non-administrative users have write or modify permissions on the installation directory, service executables, or service configuration.
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.
From vendor dataReview and correct file system and service permissions to enforce least-privilege access controls; contact vendor for official patch if available.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,984.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2022-2332 — 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-2022-2332 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
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.
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