CVE-2022-38333
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 · uneditedOpenwrt before v21.02.3 and Openwrt v22.03.0-rc6 were discovered to contain two skip loops in the function header_value(). This vulnerability allows attackers to access sensitive information via a crafted HTTP request.
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 confidenceOpenWRT before v21.02.3 and v22.03.0-rc6 contains a flaw in the header_value() function where two skip loops can be manipulated via crafted HTTP requests, allowing unauthenticated attackers to read sensitive information from memory or bypass intended access controls.
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< 21.02.3= 22.03.0CVSS 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
- High
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check OpenWRT version installedRun 'cat /etc/os-release' or 'cat /etc/openwrt_version' to see the installed version numberAffected if Version is below 21.02.3 or equals 22.03.0 (the exact version 22.03.0, not rc versions)
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Verify uhttpd web service is runningRun 'ps | grep uhttpd' or check '/etc/init.d/uhttpd status' to see if the HTTP server is activeAffected if uhttpd is running and the web interface is accessible (default on port 80 or 443)
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Confirm HTTP management interface exposureCheck '/etc/config/uhttpd' or run 'netstat -tlnp | grep -E "80|443"' to see if HTTP/HTTPS ports are listening on external interfacesAffected if The web interface is bound to WAN or otherwise exposed beyond localhost
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Verify default access control settingsInspect '/etc/config/uhttpd' for 'option listen_http' and 'option listen_https' entries - check if they bind to 0.0.0.0 or specific LAN-only interfacesAffected if uhttpd is configured to listen on 0.0.0.0 (all interfaces) rather than 127.0.0.1 (localhost only)
If the installed OpenWRT version is below 21.02.3 or exactly 22.03.0, AND the uhttpd web interface is running and accessible, the environment is vulnerable to unauthenticated memory reads or access control bypass via crafted HTTP requests to header_value().
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 · scoped21.02.3
Upgrade OpenWRT to v21.02.3, v22.03.0-rc6 or later, or apply the vendor patch that corrects the skip loop logic in header_value(). If upgrading is not immediately feasible, restrict HTTP access to the management interface via firewall rules.
OpenWrt v21.02.3 or later stable release
- Download the OpenWrt v21.02.3 or later stable firmware image from the official OpenWrt downloads page
- Backup current router configuration
- Access the router's LuCI web interface or use SSH/Telnet
- Navigate to System > Backup / Flash Firmware
- Upload and flash the new firmware image
- After reboot, restore configuration or perform fresh setup
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2022-38333 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2022-38333 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- 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