# CVE-2022-3821: Integer overflow in systemd

> An off-by-one error in systemd's time formatting allows attackers to cause a denial of service via specific input values.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/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:** 8 Nov 2022
- **Updated:** 14 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** ALSA-2023:0100, ALSA-2023:0336, AZL-11443, AZL-41659, CLSA-2023-1674163819, CLSA-2023-1674164032, CLSA-2026-1777020281, CLSA-2026-1777054863, CLSA-2026-1777056224, DEBIAN-CVE-2022-3821, DLA-3474-1, GHSA-cwpv-5v9v-5797, MGASA-2022-0429, OESA-2022-2099, RHSA-2023:0100, RHSA-2023:0336, RLSA-2023:0336, SUSE-SU-2022:3999-1, SUSE-SU-2022:4056-1, SUSE-SU-2022:4279-1, SUSE-SU-2025:20041-1, UBUNTU-CVE-2022-3821, openSUSE-SU-2024:13366-1

## What is CVE-2022-3821?

CVE-2022-3821 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Fedoraproject Fedora, published on 8 Nov 2022. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

An off-by-one Error issue was discovered in Systemd in format_timespan() function of time-util.c. An attacker could supply specific values for time and accuracy that leads to buffer overrun in format_timespan(), leading to a Denial of Service.

Weakness: CWE-193 (Off-by-one Error)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2022-3821?

It affects 3 products.


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `systemd` | AlmaLinux:8 | All versions | 239-68.el8_7.1 |
| `systemd-container` | AlmaLinux:8 | All versions | 239-68.el8_7.1 |
| `systemd-devel` | AlmaLinux:8 | All versions | 239-68.el8_7.1 |
| `systemd-journal-remote` | AlmaLinux:8 | All versions | 239-68.el8_7.1 |
| `systemd-libs` | AlmaLinux:8 | All versions | 239-68.el8_7.1 |
| `systemd-pam` | AlmaLinux:8 | All versions | 239-68.el8_7.1 |
| `systemd-tests` | AlmaLinux:8 | All versions | 239-68.el8_7.1 |
| `systemd-udev` | AlmaLinux:8 | All versions | 239-68.el8_7.1 |
| `systemd` | AlmaLinux:9 | All versions | 250-12.el9_1.1 |
| `systemd-container` | AlmaLinux:9 | All versions | 250-12.el9_1.1 |
| `systemd-devel` | AlmaLinux:9 | All versions | 250-12.el9_1.1 |
| `systemd-journal-remote` | AlmaLinux:9 | All versions | 250-12.el9_1.1 |
| `systemd-libs` | AlmaLinux:9 | All versions | 250-12.el9_1.1 |
| `systemd-oomd` | AlmaLinux:9 | All versions | 250-12.el9_1.1 |
| `systemd-pam` | AlmaLinux:9 | All versions | 250-12.el9_1.1 |
| `systemd-resolved` | AlmaLinux:9 | All versions | 250-12.el9_1.1 |
| `systemd-rpm-macros` | AlmaLinux:9 | All versions | 250-12.el9_1.1 |
| `systemd-udev` | AlmaLinux:9 | All versions | 250-12.el9_1.1 |
| `systemd` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::baseos | All versions | 0:239-68.el8_7.1 |
| `systemd-container` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::baseos | All versions | 0:239-68.el8_7.1 |
| `systemd-container-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::baseos | All versions | 0:239-68.el8_7.1 |
| `systemd-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::baseos | All versions | 0:239-68.el8_7.1 |
| `systemd-debugsource` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::baseos | All versions | 0:239-68.el8_7.1 |
| `systemd-devel` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::baseos | All versions | 0:239-68.el8_7.1 |
| `systemd-journal-remote` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::baseos | All versions | 0:239-68.el8_7.1 |
| `systemd-journal-remote-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::baseos | All versions | 0:239-68.el8_7.1 |
| `systemd-libs` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::baseos | All versions | 0:239-68.el8_7.1 |
| `systemd-libs-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::baseos | All versions | 0:239-68.el8_7.1 |
| `systemd-pam` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::baseos | All versions | 0:239-68.el8_7.1 |
| `systemd-pam-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::baseos | All versions | 0:239-68.el8_7.1 |
| `systemd-tests` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::baseos | All versions | 0:239-68.el8_7.1 |
| `systemd-tests-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::baseos | All versions | 0:239-68.el8_7.1 |
| `systemd-udev` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::baseos | All versions | 0:239-68.el8_7.1 |
| `systemd-udev-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::baseos | All versions | 0:239-68.el8_7.1 |
| `systemd-container-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:9::appstream | All versions | 0:250-12.el9_1.1 |
| `systemd-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:9::appstream | All versions | 0:250-12.el9_1.1 |
| `systemd-debugsource` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:9::appstream | All versions | 0:250-12.el9_1.1 |
| `systemd-devel` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:9::appstream | All versions | 0:250-12.el9_1.1 |
| `systemd-devel-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:9::appstream | All versions | 0:250-12.el9_1.1 |
| `systemd-journal-remote` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:9::appstream | All versions | 0:250-12.el9_1.1 |

Products: Fedoraproject Fedora, Redhat Enterprise Linux, Systemd Project Systemd.

## How do I fix CVE-2022-3821?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2022-3821 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2022-3821 in the wild and no public exploit code.

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## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2022-3821 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2022-3821 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Fedoraproject Fedora, published on 8 Nov 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-2022-3821 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Fedoraproject Fedora. 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-2022-3821/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-3821/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2022-3821
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-3821
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2022-3821

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-3821/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.