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KateApplication · Kde

CVE-2022-23853

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-02-11
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 5.91.0 / 21.12.2 or later.
See remediation →
81/100
Remediation priority · High
No privileges

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
The LSP (Language Server Protocol) plugin in KDE Kate before 21.12.2 and KTextEditor before 5.91.0 tries to execute the associated LSP server binary when opening a file of a given type. If this binary is absent from the PATH, it will try running the LSP server binary in the directory of the file that was just opened (due to a misunderstanding of the QProcess API, that was never intended). This can be an untrusted directory.

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

The LSP plugin in KDE Kate and KTextEditor incorrectly executes LSP server binaries from the directory of the opened file when the binary is not found in PATH, due to misuse of the QProcess API. An attacker can place a maliciously named executable in a directory and trick users into opening a file in that directory, causing arbitrary code execution.

MitigationUpgrade to Kate 21.12.2+ or KTextEditor 5.91.0+ which properly validate LSP server binary paths and no longer execute from untrusted directories. Alternatively, ensure no executables with LSP server names exist in user-accessible directories.

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
KateApplication
Affected:< 21.12.2
KtexteditorApplication
Affected:< 5.91.0

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
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/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 if KDE Kate is installed and get its version
    Run 'kate --version' or check your package manager (dpkg -l | grep kate, rpm -qa | grep kate, etc.)
    Affected if The installed version is below 21.12.2
  2. Check if KDE KTextEditor library is installed and get its version
    Run 'kpsewhich -var-value TEXMFMAIN' or check your package manager (dpkg -l | grep ktexteditor, rpm -qa | grep ktexteditor)
    Affected if The installed version is below 5.91.0 and the library is present on the system
  3. Determine if the LSP plugin is loaded in Kate
    Open Kate, go to Settings > Configure Kate > Plugins, and check if 'LSP Client' is enabled
    Affected if The LSP Client plugin is enabled and the Kate/KTextEditor version is in the vulnerable range
  4. Verify LSP client functionality is actually in use
    Check if there is an active LSP server running for any open file (look for LSP-related status in the editor) or inspect ~/.local/share/kate/... for LSP configuration
    Affected if LSP servers are configured or active, and the version is vulnerable

You are affected if you have Kate version below 21.12.2 or KTextEditor version below 5.91.0 with the LSP Client plugin enabled and active.

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 5.91.0 / 21.12.2 or later
Fixed in 5.91.021.12.2
Interim mitigation

Upgrade to Kate 21.12.2+ or KTextEditor 5.91.0+ which properly validate LSP server binary paths and no longer execute from untrusted directories. Alternatively, ensure no executables with LSP server names exist in user-accessible directories.

Recommended fix High confidence

Kate 21.12.2 or later; KTextEditor 5.91.0 or later

  1. 1. Check current installed version of Kate or KTextEditor using your system's package manager or running 'kate --version'
  2. 2. Upgrade Kate to version 21.12.2 or later, or KTextEditor to version 5.91.0 or later
  3. 3. For systems using package managers (e.g., apt, dnf, pacman), run the appropriate update command such as 'sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade kate' or 'sudo dnf update kate'
  4. 4. Verify the installed version meets or exceeds the fixed release by running 'kate --version' or checking the KTextEditor library version
Caveat Standard KDE version upgrades may bring UI changes; ensure your distribution's KDE stack is compatible

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

Fix this in Kate Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,930
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,088.

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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-2022-23853 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