# CVE-2022-29800: Race condition in networkd-dispatcher

> An attacker can exploit a race condition in networkd-dispatcher to replace root-owned scripts, leading to privilege escalation and code execution.

- **Severity:** Medium 4.7 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 21 Sep 2022
- **Updated:** 28 May 2025
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2022-29800, GHSA-37cj-9g83-7692, UBUNTU-CVE-2022-29800

## What is CVE-2022-29800?

CVE-2022-29800 is a medium-severity vulnerability in networkd-dispatcher, published on 21 Sep 2022. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

A time-of-check-time-of-use (TOCTOU) race condition vulnerability was found in networkd-dispatcher. This flaw exists because there is a certain time between the scripts being discovered and them being run. An attacker can abuse this vulnerability to replace scripts that networkd-dispatcher believes to be owned by root with ones that are not.

Weakness: CWE-367 (Time-of-check Time-of-use (TOCTOU) Race Condition)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2022-29800?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Microsoft Windows Defender for Endpoint.

## How do I fix CVE-2022-29800?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2022-29800 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2022-29800 exists.

Public exploit code:

- PoC for Nimbuspwn: Linux Privilege Escalation via Path Traversal and TOCTOU in networkd-dispatcher (github_poc): https://github.com/ngtuonghung/nimbuspwn-CVE-2022-29800-CVE-2022-29799

## Other vulnerabilities in networkd-dispatcher

- [CVE-2022-29799](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-29799/): Path traversal in networkd-dispatcher (medium 5.5)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2022-29800 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2022-29800 is a medium-severity vulnerability in networkd-dispatcher, published on 21 Sep 2022. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2022-29800 exists.

Affected product: networkd-dispatcher. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

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-2022-29800/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-29800/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2022-29800
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-29800
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2022-29800

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-29800/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.