RCE in Exuberant Ctags Project
CVE-2022-4515
A flaw was found in Exuberant Ctags in the way it handles the "-o" option. This option specifies the tag filename. A crafted tag filename specified in the command line or in the configuration file results in arbitrary command execution because the externalSortTags() in sort.c calls the system(3) function in an unsafe way.
Vulnerability class: Command Injection (OS Command Injection)
Published · last modified .
CVSS v3 metric
CVSS v3 base score 7.8 (High). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.
EPSS exploit prediction
EPSS: 0.006 (47.2th percentile), scored .
Very low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days; routine patching cadence is appropriate. 47th percentile — 47.2% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.
EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.006 · newest: 0.006 · change: +0.000
Affected products
- Exuberant Ctags Project
- Debian Linux — versions 10.0
- Exuberant Ctags — versions All versions are affected
Weakness classification (CWE)
Public proof-of-concept exploits
References
- sourceforge.net/p/ctags/code/HEAD/tree/tags/ctags-5.8/sort.c (Exploit, Third Party Advisory)
- lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2022/12/msg00040.html (mailing-list, Mailing List, Third Party Advisory)
Frequently asked questions
- What is CVE-2022-4515?
- CVE-2022-4515 is a high-severity vulnerability in Exuberant Ctags Project, classified under OS Command Injection. CVSS score: 7.8/10. Published 2022-12-20.
- How severe is CVE-2022-4515?
- High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 7.8 out of 10.
- Is CVE-2022-4515 known to be exploited?
- 5 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed. Not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.