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TYPO3CMS

CVE-2022-23500

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-12-14
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 9.5.38 / 10.4.33 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
TYPO3 is an open source PHP based web content management system. In versions prior to 9.5.38, 10.4.33, 11.5.20, and 12.1.1, requesting invalid or non-existing resources via HTTP triggers the page error handler, which again could retrieve content to be shown as an error message from another page. This leads to a scenario in which the application is calling itself recursively - amplifying the impact of the initial attack until the limits of the web server are exceeded. This vulnerability is very similar, but not identical, to the one described in CVE-2021-21359. This issue is patched in versions 9.5.38 ELTS, 10.4.33, 11.5.20 or 12.1.1.

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 confidence

In TYPO3 versions prior to 9.5.38, 10.4.33, 11.5.20, and 12.1.1, requesting invalid or non-existing HTTP resources triggers the page error handler, which fetches content from another page to display as an error message. This creates a recursive self-call loop that amplifies until web server limits are exceeded, causing denial of service.

MitigationUpgrade TYPO3 installation to version 9.5.38 ELTS, 10.4.33, 11.5.20, or 12.1.1 or later to patch the recursive error handler vulnerability.

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
TYPO3CMS
Affected:>= 9.0.0, < 9.5.38>= 10.0.0, < 10.4.33>= 11.0.0, < 11.5.20

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 TYPO3 version
    Check the file typo3/sysext/core/Classes/Information/Typo3Version.php or run command: composer show typo3/cms-core | grep version. Alternatively, access TYPO3 backend and check the Admin Tools > About section for the exact version number.
    Affected if The installed version falls within these ranges: 9.0.0 to 9.5.37, 10.0.0 to 10.4.32, or 11.0.0 to 11.5.19.
  2. Verify page error handler configuration
    In TYPO3 backend, go to Admin Tools > Settings > YAML Configuration > set.errorHandler. Or inspect the file typo3conf/LocalConfiguration.php for the 'SC_OPTIONS']['tslib']['hooks']['tslib_eid__go']['errorHandler'] setting.
    Affected if A page error handler is configured to fetch content from another page (not set to null or disabled).
  3. Check for recursive error handler setup
    Examine the error handler configuration to determine if it points to another page ID that itself might trigger the same error handling, creating potential recursion.
    Affected if The error handler points to a page that could trigger the same error handling mechanism, enabling the recursive loop condition.

You are affected if your TYPO3 version is below 9.5.38, 10.4.33, or 11.5.20 AND you have a page error handler configured that fetches content from another page, creating conditions for recursive error handling loops.

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 9.5.38 / 10.4.33 / 11.5.20 or later
Fixed in 9.5.3810.4.3311.5.20
Interim mitigation

Upgrade TYPO3 installation to version 9.5.38 ELTS, 10.4.33, 11.5.20, or 12.1.1 or later to patch the recursive error handler vulnerability.

Recommended fix High confidence

TYPO3 9.5.38 ELTS, 10.4.33, or 11.5.20 (11.5.20 is the recommended LTS version)

  1. Backup the TYPO3 database and all files before proceeding
  2. Review installed extensions for compatibility with the target version (9.5.38, 10.4.33, or 11.5.20)
  3. If using Composer, run 'composer require typo3/cms-core:^9.5.38' (or ^10.4.33 or ^11.5.20) to update the core packages
  4. If not using Composer, download the appropriate TYPO3 source package from typo3.org and replace the existing files
  5. Clear all caches after the upgrade by deleting the var/cache/ and typo3temp/ directories
  6. Verify the installation by requesting a non-existing page and confirming the error handler does not trigger recursive calls
  7. Check the error logs for any recursion warnings
Caveat Minor version upgrades in TYPO3 typically have minimal breaking changes; ensure all third-party extensions are compatible with the target version before upgrading

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

Fix this in TYPO3 Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,120
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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-2022-23500 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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