# CVE-2022-46663: Other in n/a

> Attackers can execute arbitrary commands via terminal escape sequences when using the less pager with the -R flag.

- **Severity:** High 7.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/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:** Yes
- **Published:** 7 Feb 2023
- **Updated:** 25 Mar 2025
- **Also known as:** ALSA-2023:3725, AZL-13350, BELL-CVE-2022-46663, DEBIAN-CVE-2022-46663, GHSA-5xw7-xf7p-gm82, OESA-2023-1129, RHSA-2023:3725, RLSA-2023:3725, SUSE-SU-2023:0348-1, UBUNTU-CVE-2022-46663, USN-5848-1, openSUSE-SU-2024:12671-1

## What is CVE-2022-46663?

CVE-2022-46663 is a high-severity vulnerability in Fedoraproject Fedora, published on 7 Feb 2023. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

In GNU Less before 609, crafted data can result in "less -R" not filtering ANSI escape sequences sent to the terminal.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2022-46663?

It affects 2 products.


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `less` | AlmaLinux:9 | All versions | 590-2.el9_2 |
| `less` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:9::baseos | All versions | 0:590-2.el9_2 |
| `less-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:9::baseos | All versions | 0:590-2.el9_2 |
| `less-debugsource` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:9::baseos | All versions | 0:590-2.el9_2 |
| `less` | Rocky Linux:9 | All versions | 0:590-2.el9_2 |
| `less` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Micro 5.3 | All versions | 590-150400.3.3.1 |
| `less` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP4 | All versions | 590-150400.3.3.1 |
| `less` | openSUSE:Leap 15.4 | All versions | 590-150400.3.3.1 |
| `less` | openSUSE:Leap Micro 5.3 | All versions | 590-150400.3.3.1 |
| `less` | openSUSE:Tumbleweed | All versions | 608-2.1 |

Products: Fedoraproject Fedora, Gnu Less.

## How do I fix CVE-2022-46663?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2022-46663 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2022-46663 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Fedoraproject Fedora

- [CVE-2024-4577](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-4577/): PHP-CGI OS Command Injection (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2021-39226](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-39226/): Grafana Authentication Bypass (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [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-2022-46663 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2022-46663 is a high-severity vulnerability in Fedoraproject Fedora, published on 7 Feb 2023. 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-2022-46663 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-2022-46663/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-46663/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2022-46663
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-46663
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2022-46663

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-46663/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.