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VinceApplication · Cert

CVE-2022-40238

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-10-26
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 1.50.5 or later.
See remediation →
94/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
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
A Remote Code Injection vulnerability exists in CERT software prior to version 1.50.5. An authenticated attacker can inject arbitrary pickle object as part of a user's profile. This can lead to code execution on the server when the user's profile is accessed.

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

This is a Python pickle deserialization vulnerability in CERT software. An authenticated attacker can embed a malicious pickle object within a user's profile data. When that profile is accessed by the application or other users, the pickle is deserialized, triggering arbitrary code execution on the server.

MitigationUpgrade to CERT software version 1.50.5 or later. Additionally, replace pickle serialization with safer alternatives like JSON for user profile data to prevent deserialization vulnerabilities.

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
VinceApplication
Affected:< 1.50.5

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
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/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 Cert Vince installation version
    Locate the installed Cert Vince package and retrieve its version number (common methods: check package manager, look for version file in installation directory, or run 'pip show' or similar command if installed via pip)
    Affected if Version is lower than 1.50.5
  2. Inspect user profile storage mechanism
    Examine how user profile data is stored in the Cert Vince system - look for serialization format in the database or profile storage files
    Affected if Profile data is serialized using Python pickle format
  3. Verify if profile deserialization occurs on access
    Review application code or configuration to confirm that user profile data is deserialized when profiles are loaded or displayed
    Affected if The application automatically deserializes profile data on access, enabling the pickle payload to trigger
  4. Check authentication configuration
    Determine whether user authentication is enabled and whether regular users can modify their own profile data
    Affected if Authenticated users can modify profile fields that get stored via pickle serialization

A system is affected if it runs Cert Vince version below 1.50.5 and stores user profile data using Python pickle serialization, which gets deserialized when profiles are accessed.

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 1.50.5 or later
Fixed in 1.50.5
Interim mitigation

Upgrade to CERT software version 1.50.5 or later. Additionally, replace pickle serialization with safer alternatives like JSON for user profile data to prevent deserialization vulnerabilities.

Recommended fix High confidence

Vince version 1.50.5 or later

  1. 1. Back up the current Vince installation and database before upgrading.
  2. 2. Locate the Vince installation directory on the server.
  3. 3. Upgrade to version 1.50.5 or later using the appropriate package manager or installation method (e.g., pip install --upgrade vince, or pull the latest Docker image, or git fetch and checkout v1.50.5).
  4. 4. Restart the Vince services to load the updated code.
  5. 5. Verify the upgrade was successful by checking the version number.
  6. 6. Test that user profile functionality works correctly after the upgrade.
  7. 7. Ensure no unauthorized access or code execution attempts have occurred by reviewing server logs.
Caveat Review release notes for any configuration or dependency changes between your current version and 1.50.5 before upgrading.

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

Fix this in Vince Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,120
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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-2022-40238 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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