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Traffic ServerApplication · Apache

CVE-2022-31778

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-08-10
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 9.1.2 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
Improper Input Validation vulnerability in handling the Transfer-Encoding header of Apache Traffic Server allows an attacker to poison the cache. This issue affects Apache Traffic Server 8.0.0 to 9.0.2.

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

Apache Traffic Server fails to properly validate the Transfer-Encoding HTTP header, allowing remote attackers to inject malicious content into the cache through specially crafted requests. This cache poisoning enables subsequent users to receive attacker-controlled content when requesting previously cached resources.

MitigationUpgrade Apache Traffic Server to version 9.0.3 or later which contains the fix. If immediate patching is not feasible, implement additional request validation at upstream proxies or temporarily disable caching for sensitive endpoints.

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
Traffic ServerApplication
Affected:>= 8.0.0, <= 8.1.4>= 9.0.0, <= 9.1.2
Debian LinuxOperating system
Affected:= 11.0

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/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. Identify Apache Traffic Server version
    Run 'traffic_server -v' or 'ats -v' from command line, or check package manager output (dpkg -l | grep traffic-server or rpm -qa | grep ats)
    Affected if Version is 8.0.0-8.1.4 or 9.0.0-9.1.2
  2. Confirm caching is enabled
    Inspect the Traffic Server configuration file (records.config) for the setting 'proxy.config.http.cache.http' and verify it is set to '1' or 'true'
    Affected if proxy.config.http.cache.http is enabled (value is 1 or true)
  3. Verify reverse proxy or forward proxy is active
    Check records.config for 'proxy.config.reverse_proxy.enabled' or 'proxy.config.http.enabled' set to enabled, or check if the server is bound to port 80/443
    Affected if Server is configured as an active proxy handling incoming HTTP requests

You are affected if Apache Traffic Server version falls within 8.0.0-8.1.4 or 9.0.0-9.1.2 AND caching is enabled on the server.

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 a release after 9.1.2
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Apache Traffic Server to version 9.0.3 or later which contains the fix. If immediate patching is not feasible, implement additional request validation at upstream proxies or temporarily disable caching for sensitive endpoints.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Upgrade to Traffic Server 8.1.5+ (for 8.x) or 9.2.0+ (for 9.x)

  1. 1. Identify the currently installed Apache Traffic Server version using: traffic_server -V or ats version
  2. 2. For Traffic Server 8.x installations: Upgrade to version 8.1.5 or later
  3. 3. For Traffic Server 9.x installations: Upgrade to version 9.1.3 or later (9.2.0 recommended)
  4. 4. Verify the upgrade by checking the version: traffic_server -V
  5. 5. Clear any potentially poisoned cache entries after patching using: traffic_ctl server restart or equivalent service restart
  6. 6. Monitor logs for any suspicious Transfer-Encoding header patterns that may indicate exploitation attempts
Caveat Major version upgrades may require configuration review; ensure custom plugins are compatible with the target version

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

Fix this in Traffic Server Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation3.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA5.0 h
16.0 hours of engineering $2,740
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,384.

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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-2022-31778 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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