# CVE-2022-38337: Hardcoded credentials in n/a

> MobaXterm sends a hardcoded password when aborting SFTP connections, potentially causing user lockouts via fail2ban.

- **Severity:** Critical 9.1 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/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:** No
- **Published:** 5 Dec 2022
- **Updated:** 24 Apr 2025
- **Also known as:** GHSA-r647-g7f3-cxvq

## What is CVE-2022-38337?

CVE-2022-38337 is a critical vulnerability in n/a, published on 5 Dec 2022. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

When aborting a SFTP connection, MobaXterm before v22.1 sends a hardcoded password to the server. The server treats this as an invalid login attempt which can result in a Denial of Service (DoS) for the user if services like fail2ban are used.

Weakness: CWE-798 (Use of Hard-coded Credentials)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2022-38337?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Mobatek Mobaxterm.

## How do I fix CVE-2022-38337?

No fix has been published for CVE-2022-38337 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2022-38337 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2022-38337 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in n/a

- [CVE-2019-7690](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-7690/): Information disclosure in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2017-15376](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-15376/): Auth bypass in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2019-16305](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-16305/): Command injection in n/a (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2019-13475](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-13475/): Command injection in n/a (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2026-25866](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-25866/): MobaXterm < 26.1 Notepad++ Unquoted Service Path (high 8.5)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2022-38337 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2022-38337 is a critical vulnerability in n/a, published on 5 Dec 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-2022-38337 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: n/a. 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-2022-38337/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-38337/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2022-38337
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-38337
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2022-38337

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-38337/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.