# CVE-2022-29173: No protection against rollback attacks in go-tuf > Attackers can force clients to install older, vulnerable software by bypassing rollback protections in the go-tuf library. - **Severity:** High 8.0 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`) - **Exploited in the wild:** Not known - **Login needed:** Any signed-in user - **Attackable:** Over the internet - **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something - **Fix available:** Yes - **Published:** 5 May 2022 - **Updated:** 23 Apr 2025 - **Also known as:** GHSA-66x3-6cw3-v5gj, GO-2022-0444 ## What is CVE-2022-29173? CVE-2022-29173 is a high-severity vulnerability in theupdateframework go-tuf, published on 5 May 2022. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link. ### Official description go-tuf is a Go implementation of The Update Framework (TUF). go-tuf does not correctly implement the client workflow for updating the metadata files for roles other than the root role. Specifically, checks for rollback attacks are not implemented correctly meaning an attacker can cause clients to install software that is older than the software which the client previously knew to be available, and may include software with known vulnerabilities. In more detail, the client code of go-tuf has several issues in regards to preventing rollback attacks: 1. It does not take into account the content of any previously trusted metadata, if available, before proceeding with updating roles other than the root role (i.e., steps 5.4.3.1 and 5.5.5 of the detailed client workflow). This means that any form of version verification done on the newly-downloaded metadata is made using the default value of zero, which always passes. 2. For both timestamp and snapshot roles, go-tuf saves these metadata files as trusted before verifying if the version of the metafiles they refer to is correct (i.e., steps 5.5.4 and 5.6.4 of the detailed client workflow). A fix is available in version 0.3.0 or newer. No workarounds are known for this issue apart from upgrading. Weakness: CWE-354 (Improper Validation of Integrity Check Value) ## Which versions are affected by CVE-2022-29173? 3 open source packages ship an affected version, including github.com/theupdateframework/go-tuf. It affects 1 product. | Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | `github.com/theupdateframework/go-tuf` | Go | All versions | 0.3.0 | | `github.com/theupdateframework/go-tuf` | Go | All versions | 0.3.0 | | `github.com/theupdateframework/go-tuf` | Go | All versions | 0.3.0 | Products: Theupdateframework Go-Tuf. ## How do I fix CVE-2022-29173? Upgrade github.com/theupdateframework/go-tuf to 0.3.0 or later. ## Is CVE-2022-29173 being exploited? There is no known exploitation of CVE-2022-29173 in the wild and no public exploit code. ## Other vulnerabilities in theupdateframework go-tuf - [CVE-2026-23991](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-23991/): go-tuf affected by client DoS via malformed server response (medium 5.9) - [CVE-2026-23992](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-23992/): go-tuf improperly validates the configured threshold for delegations (medium 5.9) - [CVE-2026-24686](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-24686/): go-tuf Path Traversal in TAP 4 Multirepo Client Allows Arbitrary File Write via Malicious Repository Names (medium 4.7) ## Fix prompt for AI coding agents ```text Check this codebase for CVE-2022-29173 and fix it if it is affected. What it is: CVE-2022-29173 is a high-severity vulnerability in theupdateframework go-tuf, published on 5 May 2022. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link. Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2022-29173 in the wild and no public exploit code. Affected packages and fixed versions: - github.com/theupdateframework/go-tuf (Go): affected all versions; fixed in 0.3.0 - github.com/theupdateframework/go-tuf (Go): affected all versions; fixed in 0.3.0 - github.com/theupdateframework/go-tuf (Go): affected all versions; fixed in 0.3.0 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-2022-29173/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-29173/index.md) ``` ## Sources - CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2022-29173 - NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-29173 - OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2022-29173 --- From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-29173/ Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.