dbcve.org
Intellij IdeaApplication · Jetbrains

CVE-2022-40978

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-09-19
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 2022.2.2 or later.
See remediation →
81/100
Remediation priority · High
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
The installer of JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA before 2022.2.2 was vulnerable to EXE search order hijacking

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 installer for JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA versions prior to 2022.2.2 was vulnerable to EXE search order hijacking, allowing an attacker who could place a malicious executable in certain directories to execute arbitrary code with the privileges of the user running the installer.

MitigationUpgrade IntelliJ IDEA to version 2022.2.2 or later, which contains the patched installer. Verify no unauthorized executables exist in common search paths used by the installer.

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
Intellij IdeaApplication
Affected:< 2022.2.2

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/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 IntelliJ IDEA version
    Open IntelliJ IDEA and go to Help > About, or check the installation directory for version metadata files. Alternatively, check Windows registry under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\JetBrains\IntelliJ\ or HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\JetBrains\IntelliJ\ for the installed version string.
    Affected if The displayed version is earlier than 2022.2.2, or the version string cannot be determined but the installation was performed using an older installer.
  2. Verify installer provenance
    Confirm the source of the IntelliJ IDEA installer used. Check the digital signature of the installer executable (right-click > Properties > Digital Signatures) and verify it was downloaded from the official JetBrains repository.
    Affected if The installer was obtained from an unofficial source or lacks a valid JetBrains digital signature.
  3. Inspect common search path directories
    Examine directories that the Windows installer may use during execution, including the directory containing the installer, the Windows System32 folder, and any directories listed in the system PATH environment variable. Look for unexpected or unauthorized executable files with common names (e.g., mspaint.exe, notepad.exe, cmd.exe) that may have been substituted.
    Affected if Unexpected or suspicious executable files are present in these directories, particularly if they have unusual file sizes or modification dates coinciding with the time of installation.
  4. Review recent installation activity
    Check Windows Event Viewer logs under Windows Logs > Application and System for installation events from IntelliJ IDEA around the time of setup. Look for any failed or anomalous execution attempts logged by Windows Defender or other security tools.
    Affected if There are security event logs indicating blocked or suspicious executable launches during the IDE installation timeframe.

You are likely affected if IntelliJ IDEA version installed is earlier than 2022.2.2 and you ran the installer on a system where an attacker could have placed malicious executables in search order directories.

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 2022.2.2 or later
Fixed in 2022.2.2
Interim mitigation

Upgrade IntelliJ IDEA to version 2022.2.2 or later, which contains the patched installer. Verify no unauthorized executables exist in common search paths used by the installer.

Recommended fix High confidence

2022.2.2 or later

  1. 1. Download IntelliJ IDEA version 2022.2.2 or later from the official JetBrains website (jetbrains.com) - ensure you download from the official source only
  2. 2. Uninstall the current vulnerable version of IntelliJ IDEA from your system
  3. 3. Clear any temporary files or caches related to the previous installer to remove potentially compromised artifacts
  4. 4. Run the newly downloaded installer (2022.2.2 or later) to perform a fresh installation
  5. 5. Follow the installation prompts and verify the installation completes successfully
  6. 6. Launch IntelliJ IDEA to confirm the application works correctly after the upgrade
Caveat Minor - ensure you back up any custom settings or projects before uninstalling the old version

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

Fix this in Intellij Idea Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
4.0 hours of engineering $750
Get the upgrade done

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Scan for this in your stack

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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-2022-40978 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