XtrabackupApplication · Percona

CVE-2022-26944

MEDIUM · 6.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-06-02
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
71/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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
Percona XtraBackup 2.4.20 unintentionally writes the command line to any resulting backup file output. This may include sensitive arguments passed at run time. In addition, when --history is passed at run time, this command line is also written to the PERCONA_SCHEMA.xtrabackup_history table. NOTE: this issue exists because of an incomplete fix for CVE-2020-10997.

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

Percona XtraBackup 2.4.20 writes the full command line including any sensitive arguments to backup output files. When the --history option is used, these command lines are also persisted to the PERCONA_SCHEMA.xtrabackup_history table, potentially exposing passwords, credentials, or other secrets passed at runtime.

MitigationAvoid passing sensitive data (passwords, API keys, tokens) as command-line arguments to xtrabackup; use environment variables, configuration files, or secure credential storage mechanisms instead. Review the xtrabackup_history table and backup files for any exposed secrets and rotate them if necessary.

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
XtrabackupApplication
Affected:= 2.4.20

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

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

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 xtrabackup version
    Run 'xtrabackup --version' or 'xtrabackup --version-only' to determine the installed version
    Affected if The version is 2.4.20
  2. Identify if --history option was used
    Review the command history, scripts, or cron jobs that invoked xtrabackup to see if --history flag was passed
    Affected if The --history option was used with xtrabackup when performing backups
  3. Examine xtrabackup_history table
    Connect to MySQL/MariaDB and run: SELECT name, command, start_time, info FROM PERCONA_SCHEMA.xtrabackup_history;
    Affected if The query returns rows containing full command lines with sensitive arguments such as passwords, tokens, or API keys
  4. Inspect backup output files
    Check the backup directory for any metadata or log files that may contain the original command line used to invoke xtrabackup
    Affected if Backup output files contain the full command line with sensitive arguments

You are affected if you run Percona XtraBackup 2.4.20 and passed sensitive arguments (passwords, credentials, tokens) via the command line, especially when using the --history option.

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
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Avoid passing sensitive data (passwords, API keys, tokens) as command-line arguments to xtrabackup; use environment variables, configuration files, or secure credential storage mechanisms instead. Review the xtrabackup_history table and backup files for any exposed secrets and rotate them if necessary.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Percona XtraBackup > 2.4.20 (e.g., 2.4.21 or latest 2.4.x stable release)

  1. Upgrade Percona XtraBackup from version 2.4.20 to a version greater than 2.4.20 (such as 2.4.21 or later) to obtain the complete fix for CVE-2022-26944
  2. After upgrading, verify that sensitive arguments are no longer written to backup files or the xtrabackup_history table
  3. If unable to upgrade immediately, avoid using the --history option and ensure no sensitive data (passwords, tokens) is passed as command-line arguments to xtrabackup

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

Fix this in Xtrabackup Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,060
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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-2022-26944 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
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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