CVE-2022-28736 | There's a use-after-free vulnerability in grub_cmd_chainloader() function

There's a use-after-free vulnerability in grub_cmd_chainloader() function; The chainloader command is used to boot up operating systems that doesn't support multiboot and do not have direct support from GRUB2. When executing chainloader more than once a use-after-free vulnerability is triggered. If an attacker can control the GRUB2's memory allocation pattern sensitive data may be exposed and arbitrary code execution can be achieved.

Published: 2023-07-20 Last update: 2024-11-21 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Modified，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2022-28736 is rated Low Risk (33/100): CVSS Medium severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.29%). Monitor for updates and reassess as exploit intelligence or EPSS changes.

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-2022-28736

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 0.03% 0.29% +0.26%
2 2025-11-21 0.13% 0.03% -0.10%
3 2025-11-18 — 0.13% —

Full EPSS history (7 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2022-28736

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
6.4 3.1 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:L)
They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by.
Attack complexity (AC:H)
Even with access, the exploit needs extra luck, timing, or a fussy environment to actually work.
Privileges required (PR:H)
They need powerful rights—admin, root, or similar—before this pays off.
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.
 0.5 5.9 [email protected]
7.8 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:L)
They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:L)
A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
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.
 1.8 5.9 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2022-28736

OS Trackers for CVE-2022-28736

vendor priority summary link
debian not yet assigned CVE-2022-28736 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-2022-28736
gentoo high CVE-2022-28736: 1 GLSA(s) (202209-12), 1 atom(s) (sys-boot/grub); latest impact high. https://bugs.gentoo.org/buglist.cgi?quicksearch=CVE-2022-28736
redhat medium — https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2022-28736
suse high — https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2022-28736/
ubuntu medium CVE-2022-28736 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-2022-28736

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2022-28736

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

References for CVE-2022-28736

cvelogic Threat Intelligence