# CVE-2022-48538: Auth bypass in n/a

> Attackers can bypass authentication in Cacti by using a zero password, gaining unauthorized access to the monitoring system.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.3 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 22 Aug 2023
- **Updated:** 3 Oct 2024
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2022-48538, GHSA-fc7r-9282-58jr, UBUNTU-CVE-2022-48538

## What is CVE-2022-48538?

CVE-2022-48538 is a medium-severity authentication bypass vulnerability in Cacti Cacti, published on 22 Aug 2023. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

In Cacti 1.2.19, there is an authentication bypass in the web login functionality because of improper validation in the PHP code: cacti_ldap_auth() allows a zero as the password.

Weakness: CWE-863 (Incorrect Authorization)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2022-48538?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Cacti Cacti.

## How do I fix CVE-2022-48538?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2022-48538 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2022-48538 exists.

## Other vulnerabilities in Cacti Cacti

- [CVE-2022-46169](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-46169/): Cacti Command Injection (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2026-39893](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-39893/): Cacti: Pre-authentication SQL injection via rfilter RLIKE clause in graph_view.php (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2026-39938](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-39938/): Cacti: Unauthenticated RCE on Graph Image (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2026-39955](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-39955/): Cacti has Pre-Authentication SQL Injection via unanchored FILTER_VALIDATE_REGEXP in graph_view.php (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2023-39361](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-39361/): Unauthenticated SQL Injection in graph_view.php in Cacti (critical 9.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2022-48538 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2022-48538 is a medium-severity authentication bypass vulnerability in Cacti Cacti, published on 22 Aug 2023. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2022-48538 exists.

Affected product: Cacti Cacti. 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-2022-48538/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-48538/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2022-48538
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-48538
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2022-48538

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-48538/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.