# CVE-2022-4170: Code injection in rxvt-unicode

> Attackers can execute arbitrary code via the Perl background extension if they control terminal data and specific options are enabled.

- **Severity:** Critical 9.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/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:** 9 Dec 2022
- **Updated:** 14 Apr 2025
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2022-4170, GHSA-v3h7-vj8g-6x3r, MGASA-2022-0459, UBUNTU-CVE-2022-4170, openSUSE-SU-2023:0306-1, openSUSE-SU-2024:13323-1

## What is CVE-2022-4170?

CVE-2022-4170 is a critical code injection vulnerability in Fedoraproject Extra Packages for Enterprise Linux, published on 9 Dec 2022. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

The rxvt-unicode package is vulnerable to a remote code execution, in the Perl background extension, when an attacker can control the data written to the user's terminal and certain options are set.

Weakness: CWE-74 (Improper Neutralization of Special Elements in Output Used by a Downstream Component)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2022-4170?

It affects 3 products.


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `rxvt-unicode` | SUSE:Package Hub 15 SP4 | All versions | 9.31-bp155.3.3.1 |
| `rxvt-unicode` | SUSE:Package Hub 15 SP5 | All versions | 9.31-bp155.3.3.1 |
| `rxvt-unicode` | openSUSE:Leap 15.4 | All versions | 9.31-bp155.3.3.1 |
| `rxvt-unicode` | openSUSE:Leap 15.5 | All versions | 9.31-bp155.3.3.1 |
| `rxvt-unicode` | openSUSE:Tumbleweed | All versions | 9.31-1.1 |

Products: Fedoraproject Extra Packages for Enterprise Linux, Fedoraproject Fedora, Rxvt-Unicode Project Rxvt-Unicode.

## How do I fix CVE-2022-4170?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2022-4170 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2022-4170 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Fedoraproject Extra Packages for Enterprise Linux

- [CVE-2023-34152](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-34152/): Command injection in ImageMagick (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2022-40315](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-40315/): Moodle Minor SQL injection risk in admin user browsing (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2022-45152](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-45152/): Moodle blind Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF) vulnerability in LTI provider library (critical 9.1)
- [CVE-2022-24882](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-24882/): Server side NTLM does not properly check parameters in FreeRDP (critical 9.1)
- [CVE-2022-2158](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-2158/): Use after free in Chrome (high 8.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2022-4170 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2022-4170 is a critical code injection vulnerability in Fedoraproject Extra Packages for Enterprise Linux, published on 9 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-2022-4170 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Fedoraproject Extra Packages for Enterprise 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-2022-4170/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-4170/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2022-4170
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-4170
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2022-4170

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-4170/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.