# CVE-2022-23541: jsonwebtoken's insecure implementation of key retrieval function could lead to Forgeable Public/Private Tokens from RSA to HMAC

> Attackers can forge tokens by exploiting insecure key retrieval logic, bypassing authentication in applications using jsonwebtoken.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.0 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 22 Dec 2022
- **Updated:** 13 Feb 2025
- **Also known as:** GHSA-hjrf-2m68-5959, ROOT-APP-NPM-CVE-2022-23541

## What is CVE-2022-23541?

CVE-2022-23541 is a medium-severity authentication bypass vulnerability in auth0 node-jsonwebtoken, published on 22 Dec 2022. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

jsonwebtoken is an implementation of JSON Web Tokens. Versions `<= 8.5.1` of `jsonwebtoken` library can be misconfigured so that passing a poorly implemented key retrieval function referring to the `secretOrPublicKey` argument from the readme link will result in incorrect verification of tokens. There is a possibility of using a different algorithm and key combination in verification, other than the one that was used to sign the tokens. Specifically, tokens signed with an asymmetric public key could be verified with a symmetric HS256 algorithm. This can lead to successful validation of  forged tokens. If your application is supporting usage of both symmetric key and asymmetric key in jwt.verify() implementation with the same key retrieval function. This issue has been patched, please update to version 9.0.0.

Weakness: CWE-287 (Improper Authentication), CWE-1259 (Improper Restriction of Security Token Assignment)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2022-23541?

2 open source packages ship an affected version, including jsonwebtoken. It affects 1 product.


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `jsonwebtoken` | npm | All versions | 9.0.0 |
| `jsonwebtoken` | npm | All versions | 9.0.0 |

Products: Auth0 Jsonwebtoken.

## How do I fix CVE-2022-23541?

Upgrade jsonwebtoken to 9.0.0 or later.

## Is CVE-2022-23541 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2022-23541 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in auth0 node-jsonwebtoken

- [CVE-2015-9235](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2015-9235/): Verification Bypass in jsonwebtoken (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2022-23540](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-23540/): jsonwebtoken vulnerable to signature validation bypass due to insecure default algorithm in jwt.verify() (medium 6.4)
- [CVE-2022-23539](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-23539/): jsonwebtoken unrestricted key type could lead to legacy keys usage (medium 5.9)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2022-23541 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2022-23541 is a medium-severity authentication bypass vulnerability in auth0 node-jsonwebtoken, published on 22 Dec 2022. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2022-23541 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected packages and fixed versions:
- jsonwebtoken (npm): affected all versions; fixed in 9.0.0
- jsonwebtoken (npm): affected all versions; fixed in 9.0.0

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-23541/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-23541/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2022-23541
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-23541
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2022-23541

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-23541/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.