dbcve.org
FedoraOperating system · Fedoraproject

CVE-2022-46342

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-12-14
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
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 vulnerability was found in X.Org. This security flaw occurs because the handler for the XvdiSelectVideoNotify request may write to memory after it has been freed. This issue can lead to local privileges elevation on systems where the X se

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 · moderate confidence

A use-after-free vulnerability in the X.Org X server's XvdiSelectVideoNotify request handler allows writing to freed memory. This memory corruption flaw can be exploited for local privilege elevation on systems running the X server.

MitigationApply the X.Org security patch for CVE-2022-46342 to fix the use-after-free in the XvdiSelectVideoNotify handler. Upgrade to a patched X.Org server version.

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
FedoraOperating system
Affected:= 36= 37
Debian LinuxOperating system
Affected:= 11.0
X ServerApplication
Affected:= 1.20.4

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. Check X.org X Server version
    Run 'Xorg -version' or check the package version with 'rpm -q xorg-x11-server' (Fedora) or 'dpkg -l xserver-xorg-core' (Debian)
    Affected if The installed version is 1.20.4 or lower, matching the affected version range = 1.20.4
  2. Verify X Video Extension (Xv) is loaded
    Run 'xdpyinfo' and look for the 'XVideo' extension in the extensions list, or check /var/log/Xorg.0.log for 'XVideo' or 'Xv' references
    Affected if The XVideo extension is present and active - this is required for the vulnerable XvdiSelectVideoNotify handler to be reachable
  3. Check for Xvdi module or Xv plugin
    Examine Xorg log at /var/log/Xorg.0.log for loading of video driver modules (such as v4l, xvfb, or xvdiproc) that handle XvdiSelectVideoNotify requests
    Affected if Video-related X server extensions or drivers that expose the XvdiSelectVideoNotify handler are loaded
  4. Confirm X server is running with video notification enabled
    Check running X server processes with 'ps aux | grep Xorg' and verify video extension support is actively in use - look for X server accepting connections on display :0
    Affected if The X server is running and actively handling X protocol requests, which enables the vulnerable code path

A system is affected if it runs X.org X Server version 1.20.4 or lower with the X Video extension enabled, allowing the XvdiSelectVideoNotify request handler to be triggered.

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
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply the X.Org security patch for CVE-2022-46342 to fix the use-after-free in the XvdiSelectVideoNotify handler. Upgrade to a patched X.Org server version.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

X Server 1.20.11 or later (consult distribution security advisories for exact fixed version)

  1. 1. Identify the current X Server version installed: `xdpyinfo | grep 'X Server'` or `X -version`
  2. 2. For Fedora systems: Update all X.org packages using `sudo dnf update` or specifically `sudo dnf update xorg-x11-server*`
  3. 3. For Debian systems: Update using `sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade` or specifically `sudo apt install xserver-xorg-core`
  4. 4. After updating, restart the X server (log out and log back in, or reboot the system)
  5. 5. Verify the fix by checking the X Server version matches a version later than 1.20.4
Caveat Upgrading X Server may require session restart; ensure no critical graphical applications are running during update

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

Fix this in Fedora Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
16.0 hours of engineering $2,800
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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-2022-46342 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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
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