CVE-2022-28733 | Integer underflow in grub_net_recv_ip4_packets

Integer underflow in grub_net_recv_ip4_packets; A malicious crafted IP packet can lead to an integer underflow in grub_net_recv_ip4_packets() function on rsm->total_len value. Under certain circumstances the total_len value may end up wrapping around to a small integer number which will be used in memory allocation. If the attack succeeds in such way, subsequent operations can write past the end of the buffer.

Published: 2023-07-19 Last update: 2026-06-17 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2022-28733 is rated Moderate Risk (56.8/100): CVSS High severity, with medium exploitation likelihood (EPSS 1.28%). Core evidence: EPSS rose +1.18% over the last day, indicating growing attacker interest. Mandatory action: Review affected assets and schedule remediation.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2022-28733

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2026-06-15 0.11% 1.28% +1.18%
2 2025-11-21 0.52% 0.11% -0.41%
3 2025-11-18 0.52%

Full EPSS history (9 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2022-28733

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
8.1 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:H)
Even with access, the exploit needs extra luck, timing, or a fussy environment to actually work.
Privileges required (PR:N)
No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
2.2 5.9 [email protected]
8.1 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:H)
Even with access, the exploit needs extra luck, timing, or a fussy environment to actually work.
Privileges required (PR:N)
No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
2.2 5.9 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2022-28733

OS Trackers for CVE-2022-28733

vendor priority summary link
debian not yet assigned CVE-2022-28733 not yet assigned priority: Debian including 1 source packages (grub2), 5 status rows across 5 suites (bookworm, bullseye, forky, sid, trixie): resolved 5. https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2022-28733
gentoo high CVE-2022-28733: 1 GLSA(s) (202209-12), 1 atom(s) (sys-boot/grub); latest impact high. https://bugs.gentoo.org/buglist.cgi?quicksearch=CVE-2022-28733
redhat high https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2022-28733
suse high https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2022-28733/
ubuntu medium CVE-2022-28733 medium priority: Ubuntu including 3 source packages (grub2, grub2-signed, grub2-unsigned), 40 status rows across 14 suites (bionic, focal, impish, jammy, kinetic, lunar, mantic, noble, oracular, plucky, questing, trusty, upstream, xenial): not-affected 24, released 7, ignored 3, needs-triage 3, needed 2, DNE 1. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2022-28733

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2022-28733

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
gnu grub2 >= 2.00, < 2.06-3 cpe:2.3:a:gnu:grub2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2022-28733

cvelogic Threat Intelligence