CVE-2022-36227

In libarchive before 3.6.2, the software does not check for an error after calling calloc function that can return with a NULL pointer if the function fails, which leads to a resultant NULL pointer dereference. NOTE: the discoverer cites this CWE-476 remark but third parties dispute the code-execution impact: "In rare circumstances, when NULL is equivalent to the 0x0 memory address and privileged code can access it, then writing or reading memory is possible, which may lead to code execution."

Published: 2022-11-22 Last update: 2025-11-03 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Modified，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2022-36227 is rated Moderate Risk (63.1/100): CVSS Critical severity, with medium exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.55%). 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-2022-36227

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 2026-05-18 0.48% 0.55% +0.07%
2 2026-05-01 0.43% 0.48% +0.06%
3 2026-04-12 — 0.43% —

Full EPSS history (33 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2022-36227

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
9.8 3.1 CRITICAL
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/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:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
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.
 3.9 5.9 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2022-36227

OS Trackers for CVE-2022-36227

vendor priority summary link
alpine — CVE-2022-36227: 1 source package rows (libarchive); 33 state rows across 7 repos (3.17-main, 3.18-main, 3.19-main, 3.20-main, 3.21-main, 3.22-main, edge-main); fixed 7, open 26. https://security.alpinelinux.org/vuln/CVE-2022-36227
debian not yet assigned CVE-2022-36227 not yet assigned priority: Debian including 1 source packages (libarchive), 5 status rows across 5 suites (bookworm, bullseye, forky, sid, trixie): resolved 5. https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2022-36227
gentoo normal CVE-2022-36227: 1 GLSA(s) (202309-14), 1 atom(s) (app-arch/libarchive); latest impact normal. https://bugs.gentoo.org/buglist.cgi?quicksearch=CVE-2022-36227
redhat low — https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2022-36227
suse low — https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2022-36227/
ubuntu low CVE-2022-36227 low priority: Ubuntu including 1 source packages (libarchive), 11 status rows across 11 suites (bionic, focal, jammy, kinetic, lunar, mantic, noble, oracular, trusty, upstream, xenial): released 6, not-affected 4, ignored 1. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2022-36227

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2022-36227

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
libarchive libarchive >= 3.0.0, < 3.6.2 cpe:2.3:a:libarchive:libarchive:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
debian debian_linux 10.0 cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:10.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
fedoraproject fedora 37 cpe:2.3:o:fedoraproject:fedora:37:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
splunk universal_forwarder >= 8.2.0, < 8.2.12 cpe:2.3:a:splunk:universal_forwarder:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
splunk universal_forwarder >= 9.0.0, < 9.0.6 cpe:2.3:a:splunk:universal_forwarder:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
splunk universal_forwarder 9.1.0 cpe:2.3:a:splunk:universal_forwarder:9.1.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2022-36227

cvelogic Threat Intelligence