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Debian LinuxOperating system · Debian

CVE-2022-40284

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-11-06
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 2022.10.3 or later.
See remediation →
80/100
Remediation priority · High
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 buffer overflow was discovered in NTFS-3G before 2022.10.3. Crafted metadata in an NTFS image can cause code execution. A local attacker can exploit this if the ntfs-3g binary is setuid root. A physically proximate attacker can exploit this if NTFS-3G software is configured to execute upon attachment of an external storage device.

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

A buffer overflow vulnerability in NTFS-3G versions before 2022.10.3 exists in the metadata parsing logic. When a crafted NTFS image with malicious metadata is processed, the buffer overflow can be triggered to achieve code execution. The vulnerability is exploitable locally if ntfs-3g is setuid root, or by a physically proximate attacker who can cause the software to auto-execute upon external storage device attachment.

MitigationUpgrade NTFS-3G to version 2022.10.3 or later. Additionally, ensure ntfs-3g is not configured with setuid root permissions and disable auto-execution upon external storage device attachment to prevent proximate attacks.

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
Debian LinuxOperating system
Affected:= 10.0
FedoraOperating system
Affected:= 35= 36= 37
Ntfs 3gApplication
Affected:< 2022.10.3

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/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. Verify NTFS-3G installation
    Run 'dpkg -l | grep ntfs-3g' (Debian/Ubuntu) or 'rpm -qa | grep ntfs-3g' (Fedora/RHEL) or 'ntfs-3g --version' to confirm the package is installed
    Affected if NTFS-3G is not installed on the system, the vulnerability does not apply
  2. Check installed NTFS-3G version
    Execute 'ntfs-3g --version' or 'rpm -q ntfs-3g' (Fedora) or 'dpkg -s ntfs-3g | grep Version' (Debian) to obtain the exact version number
    Affected if The installed version is earlier than 2022.10.3 (for Tuxera Ntfs 3g) or matches Debian 10.0 or Fedora 35/36/37 specific packages known to be vulnerable
  3. Verify setuid root permissions on ntfs-3g binary
    Run 'ls -la /bin/ntfs-3g /usr/bin/ntfs-3g /sbin/mount.ntfs 2>/dev/null' and check for 's' in the owner permissions field (e.g., '-rwsr-xr-x')
    Affected if The ntfs-3g binary has setuid root permissions (first 's' in owner permissions), making local privilege escalation possible
  4. Check for auto-mount configuration that may execute NTFS images
    Review /etc/udisks2/udisks.conf (for udisks2) or /etc/fstab entries for NTFS partitions, and check if automount is enabled in desktop environment settings
    Affected if Auto-mounting of external NTFS media is enabled without user confirmation, allowing proximate attackers to trigger the vulnerability by inserting a malicious USB drive
  5. Identify systems that may process untrusted NTFS images
    Search for scripts or services that automatically mount NTFS images from external sources: check /etc/pm/utils.d/, /etc/udev/rules.d/, or systemd units that reference 'ntfs-3g' and process removable media
    Affected if The system automatically processes NTFS images from external or untrusted sources without validation

A system is affected if NTFS-3G version is before 2022.10.3 AND (the binary has setuid root permissions OR auto-execution upon external storage attachment is enabled).

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 2022.10.3 or later
Fixed in 2022.10.3
Interim mitigation

Upgrade NTFS-3G to version 2022.10.3 or later. Additionally, ensure ntfs-3g is not configured with setuid root permissions and disable auto-execution upon external storage device attachment to prevent proximate attacks.

Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to NTFS-3G version 2022.10.3 or later (or the latest version available in your distribution's security repositories)

  1. Check current NTFS-3G version by running: ntfs-3g --version or rpm -q ntfs-3g (Fedora) / dpkg -l ntfs-3g (Debian)
  2. For Fedora systems: Run 'sudo dnf update ntfs-3g' to obtain the latest package with the security fix
  3. For Debian systems: Run 'sudo apt update && sudo apt install ntfs-3g' to get the patched version from Debian repositories
  4. Verify the installed version is 2022.10.3 or later using: ntfs-3g --version
  5. If using ntfs-3g as a setuid root binary, ensure it is no longer needed setuid root, or remove the setuid bit with: sudo chmod -s /bin/ntfs-3g (or the appropriate path)
  6. If NTFS-3G is configured to auto-mount external NTFS devices (e.g., via udev or autofs), verify the configuration uses the updated version before reconnecting external NTFS storage
Caveat Minor: Ensure any automation scripts referencing specific ntfs-3g binary paths remain compatible after update; the setuid removal may affect existing workflows requiring root NTFS access

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

Fix this in Debian Linux Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
7.0 hours of engineering $1,240
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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-2022-40284 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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