CVE-2022-36071 | Recovery codes abuse in SFTPGo

Exp

SFTPGo is configurable SFTP server with optional HTTP/S, FTP/S and WebDAV support. SFTPGo WebAdmin and WebClient support login using TOTP (Time-based One Time Passwords) as a secondary authentication factor. Because TOTPs are often configured on mobile devices that can be lost, stolen or damaged, SFTPGo also supports recovery codes. These are a set of one time use codes that can be used instead of the TOTP. In SFTPGo versions from version 2.2.0 to 2.3.3 recovery codes can be generated before enabling two-factor authentication. An attacker who knows the user's password could potentially generate some recovery codes and then bypass two-factor authentication after it is enabled on the account at a later time. This issue has been fixed in version 2.3.4. Recovery codes can now only be generated after enabling two-factor authentication and are deleted after disabling it.

Published: 2022-09-02 Last update: 2024-11-21 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Modified，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2022-36071 is rated Exploit Available (59.7/100): CVSS High severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.12%). 1 public exploit reference(s) are indexed (Exploit-DB). Public exploits are available—assess exposure, apply mitigations, and prioritize patching.

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

Public exploit references (Exploit-DB) for CVE-2022-36071

EDB-ID Source Kind Published Link
— nvd_ref exploit_tag Exploit-DB ↗

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2022-36071

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 2025-09-13 0.02% 0.12% +0.11%
2 2025-03-17 0.05% 0.02% -0.03%
3 2023-03-07 — 0.05% —

Full EPSS history (4 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2022-36071

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
8.3 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:L 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: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:L)
Might cause slowdowns, glitches, or partial disruption—not a full brick.
 2.8 5.5 [email protected]
8.1 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N 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: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:N)
Service keeps running; no real outage angle.
 2.8 5.2 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2022-36071

GitHub Security Advisory for CVE-2022-36071

GHSA-54qx-8p8w-xhg8 · Severity: high · Ecosystem: go — SFTPGo vulnerable to recovery codes abuse

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2022-36071

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
sftpgo_project sftpgo >= 2.2.0, < 2.3.4 cpe:2.3:a:sftpgo_project:sftpgo:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2022-36071

URL Tags
https://github.com/drakkan/sftpgo/issues/965 Exploit Issue Tracking Patch Third Party Advisory
https://github.com/drakkan/sftpgo/security/advisories/GHSA-54qx-8p8w-xhg8 Mitigation Third Party Advisory
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