CVE-2022-43701
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 · uneditedWhen the installation directory does not have sufficiently restrictive file permissions, an attacker can modify files in the installation directory to cause execution of malicious code.
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 confidenceThis is a local privilege escalation vulnerability where insufficient file permissions on an installation directory allow an attacker to modify executable files, libraries, or scripts within that directory. When privileged users or processes execute these modified files, malicious code runs with elevated privileges.
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>= 5.00, <= 5.06>= 6.00, < 6.20= 6.16= 6.6all versionsall versions>= 5.0.0, <= 5.29.3all versionsall versionsCVSS 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify installed Arm development toolsSearch for Arm tool binaries or installation directories. Common installation paths include /opt/arm, /usr/local/arm, or ~/arm. Use commands like 'which armcc', 'which armclang', 'ls /opt/arm', or check Program Files directories on Windows.Affected if Any Arm development product from the affected list is installed on the system.
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Locate the installation directoryFind the parent directory containing the Arm tool binaries and libraries. Check the tool's binary location using 'which <toolname>' or review installation documentation for default paths.Affected if An Arm tool installation directory exists on the system.
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Check directory write permissionsRun 'ls -ld <installation_directory>' to inspect the directory permissions. Look for 'w' permissions in the group or world fields (e.g., permissions like 775, 777, or any mode with write bit set for group/other).Affected if The installation directory has write permission for group or world (mode shows 'w' in positions 5 or 8, or numeric mode >= 775).
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Check file permissions on executables and librariesRun 'ls -l <installation_directory>' to list files and their permissions. Check executable files, .so/.dll libraries, and scripts for write permissions for group or world.Affected if Any executable, library, or script in the installation directory has write permission for non-root users (permissions show 'w' in group/other fields).
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Check file ownershipRun 'ls -ln <installation_directory>' to see numeric UIDs. Verify if files are owned by root or a privileged system account versus a non-privileged user.Affected if Files or directories in the installation path are owned by a non-privileged user account.
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Identify world-writable scripts or executablesRun 'find <installation_directory> -type f \( -name "*.sh" -o -name "*.py" -o -name "*" \) -perm -002' to find any world-writable files that could be replaced by an attacker.Affected if Any script, executable, or library in the installation directory is world-writable (permissions include o+w).
The environment is affected if any Arm development tool is installed and the installation directory or its contents have write permissions accessible to non-privileged users (group or world writable), allowing potential modification of executables or libraries for privilege escalation.
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 · scoped6.20
Restrict file permissions on installation directories to owner-only write access (e.g., 755 for directories, 644 for files, 755 for binaries), ensure ownership by root, and remove write permissions for non-privileged users.
- After installing the Arm software, navigate to the installation directory and verify the current file permissions
- Restrict file permissions on the installation directory to ensure only authorized users and administrators have write access
- Remove any world-writable permissions from the installation directory and its subdirectories using operating system permission tools (e.g., chmod on Linux, icacls on Windows)
- Ensure the installation directory is owned by an administrator or service account with appropriate access controls
- Verify that non-privileged users have read and execute access only, not write access, to prevent modification of files in the installation directory
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2022-43701 — 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-2022-43701 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
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