CVE-2022-39389 | Witness Block Parsing DoS Vulnerability in lnd

Exp

Lightning Network Daemon (lnd) is an implementation of a lightning bitcoin overlay network node. All lnd nodes before version `v0.15.4` are vulnerable to a block parsing bug that can cause a node to enter a degraded state once encountered. In this degraded state, nodes can continue to make payments and forward HTLCs, and close out channels. Opening channels is prohibited, and also on chain transaction events will be undetected. This can cause loss of funds if a CSV expiry is researched during a breach attempt or a CLTV delta expires forgetting the funds in the HTLC. A patch is available in `lnd` version 0.15.4. Users are advised to upgrade. Users unable to upgrade may use the `lncli updatechanpolicy` RPC call to increase their CLTV value to a very high amount or increase their fee policies. This will prevent nodes from routing through your node, meaning that no pending HTLCs can be present.

Published: 2022-11-17 Last update: 2024-11-21 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2022-39389 is rated High Exploit Risk (72/100): CVSS High severity, with medium exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.61%). Core evidence: 1 public exploit reference(s) are indexed (Exploit-DB). Mandatory action: 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-2022-39389

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

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2022-39389

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 2026-02-08 0.69% 0.61% -0.07%
2 2025-12-24 0.65% 0.69% +0.04%
3 2025-11-22 0.65%

Full EPSS history (10 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2022-39389

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
8.2 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/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:N)
Doesn’t really leak secrets in a meaningful way.
Integrity (I:L)
Attackers could change some data, but it’s limited—not everything goes.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
3.9 4.2 [email protected]
6.5 3.1 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/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: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:N)
Doesn’t really leak secrets in a meaningful way.
Integrity (I:L)
Attackers could change some data, but it’s limited—not everything goes.
Availability (A:L)
Might cause slowdowns, glitches, or partial disruption—not a full brick.
3.9 2.5 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2022-39389

GitHub Security Advisory for CVE-2022-39389

GHSA-hc82-w9v8-83pr · Severity: high · Ecosystem: go — Witness Block Parsing DoS Vulnerability

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2022-39389

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
btcd_project btcd < 0.23.3 cpe:2.3:a:btcd_project:btcd:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
lightning_network_daemon_project lightning_network_daemon < 0.15.4 cpe:2.3:a:lightning_network_daemon_project:lightning_network_daemon:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2022-39389

cvelogic Threat Intelligence