# CVE-2022-43978: Limited Authentication bypass due to hardcoded secret

> An attacker with a valid session can bypass authentication checks in Pandora FMS due to a hardcoded secret in the public hash generation function.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.6 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:H/PR:H/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** An administrator
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 27 Jan 2023
- **Updated:** 27 Mar 2025
- **Also known as:** GHSA-rw3x-x7f9-xrj4

## What is CVE-2022-43978?

CVE-2022-43978 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Artica PFMS Pandora FMS, published on 27 Jan 2023. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

There is an improper authentication vulnerability in Pandora FMS v764. The application verifies that the user has a valid session when he is not trying to do a login. Since the secret is static in generatePublicHash function, an attacker with knowledge of a valid session can abuse this in order to pass the authentication check.

Weakness: CWE-798 (Use of Hard-coded Credentials), CWE-287 (Improper Authentication)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2022-43978?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Pandorafms Pandora Fms.

## How do I fix CVE-2022-43978?

No fix has been published for CVE-2022-43978 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2022-43978 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2022-43978 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Artica PFMS Pandora FMS

- [CVE-2021-34074](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-34074/): File upload in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2020-13854](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-13854/): Privilege escalation in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2020-11749](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-11749/): Cross-site scripting in n/a (critical 9.0)
- [CVE-2020-13851](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-13851/): Command injection in n/a (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2025-34088](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-34088/): Pandora FMS Authenticated Remote Code Execution via Ping Module (high 8.6)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2022-43978 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2022-43978 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Artica PFMS Pandora FMS, published on 27 Jan 2023. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2022-43978 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Artica PFMS Pandora FMS. 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-2022-43978/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-43978/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2022-43978
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-43978
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2022-43978

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-43978/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.