# CVE-2022-4172: Integer overflow in QEMU (ACPI ERST)

> A malicious guest can crash the QEMU host process via integer and buffer overflows in the ACPI ERST device.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/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:** 29 Nov 2022
- **Updated:** 14 Apr 2025
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2022-4172, DEBIAN-CVE-2022-4172, GHSA-7m5q-w7p8-x8h4

## What is CVE-2022-4172?

CVE-2022-4172 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Fedoraproject Fedora, published on 29 Nov 2022. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

An integer overflow and buffer overflow issues were found in the ACPI Error Record Serialization Table (ERST) device of QEMU in the read_erst_record() and write_erst_record() functions. Both issues may allow the guest to overrun the host buffer allocated for the ERST memory device. A malicious guest could use these flaws to crash the QEMU process on the host.

Weakness: CWE-120 (Buffer Copy without Checking Size of Input)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2022-4172?

It affects 2 products.


Products: Fedoraproject Fedora, Qemu Qemu.

## How do I fix CVE-2022-4172?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2022-4172 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2022-4172 in the wild and no public exploit code.

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- [CVE-2024-4577](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-4577/): PHP-CGI OS Command Injection (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
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- [CVE-2019-5544](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-5544/): VMware ESXi and Horizon DaaS OpenSLP Heap-Based Buffer Overflow (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2024-4947](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-4947/): Google Chromium V8 Type Confusion (critical 9.6, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2024-4671](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-4671/): Google Chromium Visuals Use-After-Free (critical 9.6, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2022-4172 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2022-4172 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Fedoraproject Fedora, published on 29 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-2022-4172 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-2022-4172/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-4172/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2022-4172
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-4172
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2022-4172

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-4172/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.