# CVE-2022-32166: ovs - buffer over-read

> A heap buffer over-read in Open vSwitch allows attackers to crash the software or potentially execute remote code via unsafe memory access.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.1 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:H`)
- **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:** 28 Sep 2022
- **Updated:** 21 May 2025
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2022-32166, DLA-3168-1, GHSA-3q99-mmr6-6chg, SUSE-SU-2022:4050-1, UBUNTU-CVE-2022-32166, USN-5698-1, USN-5698-2

## What is CVE-2022-32166?

CVE-2022-32166 is a medium-severity memory corruption vulnerability in Debian Debian Linux, published on 28 Sep 2022. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

In ovs versions v0.90.0 through v2.5.0 are vulnerable to heap buffer over-read in flow.c. An unsafe comparison of “minimasks” function could lead access to an unmapped region of memory. This vulnerability is capable of crashing the software, memory modification, and possible remote execution.

Weakness: CWE-125 (Out-of-bounds Read)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2022-32166?

It affects 2 products.


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `openvswitch` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP5 | All versions | 2.11.5-3.12.1 |
| `openvswitch` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 12 SP5 | All versions | 2.11.5-3.12.1 |

Products: Cloudbase Open Vswitch, Debian Debian Linux.

## How do I fix CVE-2022-32166?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2022-32166 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2022-32166 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Debian Debian Linux

- [CVE-2023-1668](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-1668/): Other in openvswitch (high 8.2)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2022-32166 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2022-32166 is a medium-severity memory corruption vulnerability in Debian Debian Linux, published on 28 Sep 2022. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2022-32166 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-2022-32166/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-32166/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2022-32166
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-32166
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2022-32166

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-32166/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.