# CVE-2022-30550: Privilege escalation in n/a

> Incorrect application of username_filter settings in Dovecot passdb configurations can allow privilege escalation when duplicate driver entries exist.

- **Severity:** High 8.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/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:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 17 Jul 2022
- **Updated:** 15 Oct 2024
- **Also known as:** ALPINE-CVE-2022-30550, ALSA-2022:7623, ALSA-2022:8208, AZL-10311, AZL-44649, CLSA-2022-1659635856, CLSA-2022-1659635964, DEBIAN-CVE-2022-30550, GHSA-cch8-vp96-g53m, MGASA-2022-0296, OESA-2022-1994, RHSA-2022:7623, RHSA-2022:8208, RLSA-2022:7623, RLSA-2022:8208, SUSE-SU-2022:2431-1, SUSE-SU-2022:2432-1, SUSE-SU-2022:2448-1, SUSE-SU-2022:2618-1, UBUNTU-CVE-2022-30550, USN-5509-1

## What is CVE-2022-30550?

CVE-2022-30550 is a high-severity vulnerability in Debian Debian Linux, published on 17 Jul 2022. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

An issue was discovered in the auth component in Dovecot 2.2 and 2.3 before 2.3.20. When two passdb configuration entries exist with the same driver and args settings, incorrect username_filter and mechanism settings can be applied to passdb definitions. These incorrectly applied settings can lead to an unintended security configuration and can permit privilege escalation in certain configurations. The documentation does not advise against the use of passdb definitions that have the same driver and args settings. One such configuration would be where an administrator wishes to use the same PAM configuration or passwd file for both normal and master users but use the username_filter setting to restrict which of the users is able to be a master user.

Weakness: CWE-287 (Improper Authentication)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2022-30550?

It affects 2 products.


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `dovecot` | AlmaLinux:8 | All versions | 1:2.3.16-3.el8 |
| `dovecot-devel` | AlmaLinux:8 | All versions | 1:2.3.16-3.el8 |
| `dovecot-mysql` | AlmaLinux:8 | All versions | 1:2.3.16-3.el8 |
| `dovecot-pgsql` | AlmaLinux:8 | All versions | 1:2.3.16-3.el8 |
| `dovecot-pigeonhole` | AlmaLinux:8 | All versions | 1:2.3.16-3.el8 |
| `dovecot` | AlmaLinux:9 | All versions | 1:2.3.16-7.el9 |
| `dovecot-devel` | AlmaLinux:9 | All versions | 1:2.3.16-7.el9 |
| `dovecot-mysql` | AlmaLinux:9 | All versions | 1:2.3.16-7.el9 |
| `dovecot-pgsql` | AlmaLinux:9 | All versions | 1:2.3.16-7.el9 |
| `dovecot-pigeonhole` | AlmaLinux:9 | All versions | 1:2.3.16-7.el9 |
| `dovecot` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstream | All versions | 1:2.3.16-3.el8 |
| `dovecot-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstream | All versions | 1:2.3.16-3.el8 |
| `dovecot-debugsource` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstream | All versions | 1:2.3.16-3.el8 |
| `dovecot-mysql` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstream | All versions | 1:2.3.16-3.el8 |
| `dovecot-mysql-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstream | All versions | 1:2.3.16-3.el8 |
| `dovecot-pgsql` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstream | All versions | 1:2.3.16-3.el8 |
| `dovecot-pgsql-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstream | All versions | 1:2.3.16-3.el8 |
| `dovecot-pigeonhole` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstream | All versions | 1:2.3.16-3.el8 |
| `dovecot-pigeonhole-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstream | All versions | 1:2.3.16-3.el8 |
| `dovecot` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::crb | All versions | 1:2.3.16-3.el8 |
| `dovecot-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::crb | All versions | 1:2.3.16-3.el8 |
| `dovecot-debugsource` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::crb | All versions | 1:2.3.16-3.el8 |
| `dovecot-devel` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::crb | All versions | 1:2.3.16-3.el8 |
| `dovecot-mysql-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::crb | All versions | 1:2.3.16-3.el8 |
| `dovecot-pgsql-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::crb | All versions | 1:2.3.16-3.el8 |
| `dovecot-pigeonhole-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::crb | All versions | 1:2.3.16-3.el8 |
| `dovecot` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:9::appstream | All versions | 1:2.3.16-7.el9 |
| `dovecot-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:9::appstream | All versions | 1:2.3.16-7.el9 |
| `dovecot-debugsource` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:9::appstream | All versions | 1:2.3.16-7.el9 |
| `dovecot-mysql` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:9::appstream | All versions | 1:2.3.16-7.el9 |
| `dovecot-mysql-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:9::appstream | All versions | 1:2.3.16-7.el9 |
| `dovecot-pgsql` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:9::appstream | All versions | 1:2.3.16-7.el9 |
| `dovecot-pgsql-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:9::appstream | All versions | 1:2.3.16-7.el9 |
| `dovecot-pigeonhole` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:9::appstream | All versions | 1:2.3.16-7.el9 |
| `dovecot-pigeonhole-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:9::appstream | All versions | 1:2.3.16-7.el9 |
| `dovecot` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:9::crb | All versions | 1:2.3.16-7.el9 |
| `dovecot-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:9::crb | All versions | 1:2.3.16-7.el9 |
| `dovecot-debugsource` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:9::crb | All versions | 1:2.3.16-7.el9 |
| `dovecot-devel` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:9::crb | All versions | 1:2.3.16-7.el9 |
| `dovecot-mysql-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:9::crb | All versions | 1:2.3.16-7.el9 |

Products: Debian Debian Linux, Dovecot Dovecot.

## How do I fix CVE-2022-30550?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2022-30550 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2022-30550 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Debian Debian Linux

- [CVE-2015-3306](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2015-3306/): ProFTPD Improper Access Control (critical 10.0, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2025-49113](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-49113/): RoundCube Webmail Deserialization of Untrusted Data (critical 9.9, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2026-24061](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-24061/): GNU InetUtils Argument Injection (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2025-39682](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-39682/): Linux Kernel Improper Check for Unusual or Exceptional Conditions (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2024-9680](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-9680/): Mozilla Firefox Use-After-Free (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2022-30550 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2022-30550 is a high-severity vulnerability in Debian Debian Linux, published on 17 Jul 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-2022-30550 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Debian Debian Linux. 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-2022-30550/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-30550/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2022-30550
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-30550
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2022-30550

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-30550/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.