# CVE-2022-38178: Memory leaks in EdDSA DNSSEC verification code

> An attacker can cause a denial of service in BIND9 by sending malformed EdDSA signatures that trigger memory leaks, eventually crashing the server.

- **Severity:** High 7.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 21 Sep 2022
- **Updated:** 28 May 2025
- **Also known as:** ALPINE-CVE-2022-38178, AZL-11002, AZL-39989, DEBIAN-CVE-2022-38178, GHSA-349w-cgp3-287r, UBUNTU-CVE-2022-38178

## What is CVE-2022-38178?

CVE-2022-38178 is a high-severity memory corruption vulnerability in Debian Debian Linux, published on 21 Sep 2022. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

By spoofing the target resolver with responses that have a malformed EdDSA signature, an attacker can trigger a small memory leak. It is possible to gradually erode available memory to the point where named crashes for lack of resources.

Weakness: CWE-401 (Missing Release of Memory after Effective Lifetime)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2022-38178?

It affects 4 products.


Products: Debian Debian Linux, Fedoraproject Fedora, Isc Bind, Netapp Active Iq Unified Manager.

## How do I fix CVE-2022-38178?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2022-38178 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2022-38178 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-2022-38178 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2022-38178 is a high-severity memory corruption vulnerability in Debian Debian Linux, published on 21 Sep 2022. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2022-38178 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-2022-38178/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-38178/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2022-38178
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-38178
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2022-38178

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-38178/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.