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Matrix Irc BridgeApplication · Matrix

CVE-2022-29166

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-05-05
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 0.33.2 or later.
See remediation →
95/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable 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
matrix-appservice-irc is a Node.js IRC bridge for Matrix. The vulnerability in node-irc allows an attacker to manipulate a Matrix user into executing IRC commands by having them reply to a maliciously crafted message. The vulnerability has been patched in matrix-appservice-irc 0.33.2. Refrain from replying to messages from untrusted participants in IRC-bridged Matrix rooms. There are no known workarounds for this issue.

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 vulnerability exists in the node-irc library used by matrix-appservice-irc, where a maliciously crafted message can trick a Matrix user into executing arbitrary IRC commands when they reply to it. This is a command injection flaw in the message reply handling mechanism of the IRC bridge.

MitigationUpgrade matrix-appservice-irc to version 0.33.2 or later. Until upgraded, users should refrain from replying to messages from untrusted participants in IRC-bridged Matrix rooms.

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
Matrix Irc BridgeApplication
Affected:< 0.33.2

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
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/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. Identify if matrix-appservice-irc is deployed
    Check your installation for the matrix-appservice-irc package or bridge service. This may be in node_modules, a container image, or running as a system service.
    Affected if The IRC bridge component is present in your environment
  2. Determine the installed version
    Run a version check command appropriate to your deployment, such as 'npm list matrix-appservice-irc', checking package.json dependencies, or querying the running service version if it exposes one.
    Affected if You cannot determine the version or the version shown is unknown
  3. Compare against affected version range
    Review the version number obtained and compare it to the affected range: versions prior to 0.33.2 are vulnerable.
    Affected if The installed version is lower than 0.33.2
  4. Assess if reply handling is in use
    Determine whether the bridge is actively processing messages in bridged rooms where users can reply to IRC messages.
    Affected if The bridge processes message replies from Matrix users to IRC participants

You are affected if your deployed matrix-appservice-irc version is below 0.33.2 and the bridge is processing message replies in bridged rooms.

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 0.33.2 or later
Fixed in 0.33.2
Interim mitigation

Upgrade matrix-appservice-irc to version 0.33.2 or later. Until upgraded, users should refrain from replying to messages from untrusted participants in IRC-bridged Matrix rooms.

Recommended fix High confidence

0.33.2

  1. Identify the current version of matrix-appservice-irc running in your environment
  2. Upgrade matrix-appservice-irc to version 0.33.2 or later
  3. Verify the upgrade was successful by checking the installed version
  4. Restart the matrix-appservice-irc service to apply the changes
  5. If using a package manager (npm), run: npm install matrix-appservice-irc@^0.33.2
  6. After upgrade, warn users to refrain from replying to messages from untrusted participants in IRC-bridged Matrix rooms as a defense-in-depth measure

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

Fix this in Matrix Irc Bridge Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation3.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
12.0 hours of engineering $2,100
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,360.

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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-2022-29166 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