Critical Memory corruption

CVE-2022-36227 — NULL Pointer Dereference in Debian Debian Linux

In libarchive before 3.6.2, the software does not check for an error after calling calloc function that can return with a NULL pointer if the function fails, which leads to a resultant NULL pointer dereference. NOTE: the discoverer cites this CWE-476 remark but third parties dispute the code-execution impact: "In rare circumstances, when NULL is equivalent to the 0x0 memory address and privileged code can access it, then writing or reading memory is possible, which may lead to code execution."

Published Nov 21, 2022 · Updated Oct 13, 2026 · Sources: NIST National Vulnerability Database, CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP · CNA: mitre

Moderate

Who exploits it and how urgent it is

A 0–100 score combining confirmed exploitation, ransomware and APT use, public exploits, EPSS and severity.

No exploitation signal in the sources consulted so far.

How the score was calculated

EPSS 2.4% (30-day exploitation probability)+13
Technical severity (critical)+10
Automatable exploitation (SSVC)+3

The score orders the patch queue; it does not replace your asset context (internet exposure, criticality, compensating controls).

Triage

Is it exploited, how likely is exploitation, what does it touch, and how severe do the sources call it.

Exploitation

Not confirmed

Not in CISA KEV — an absence of record, not proof it is unexploited.

EPSS FIRST

2.45%

ahead of 84% of scored CVEs · Oct 14, 2026

Affects

Debian

Debian Linux and 3 more

CVSS base

9.8

Critical · 1 source(s)

CISA SSVC assessment CISA

Three decision points CISA publishes for the CVEs it assesses (SSVC 2.0.3). A stakeholder decision, not a severity score.

Exploitation

None

none · proof-of-concept · active

Automatable

Yes

can an attacker script the kill-chain steps

Technical impact

Total

partial · total control of the vulnerable component

Remediation

Fixes and mitigations documented by the sources — linked to the original advisory.

Documented patch — bugs.gentoo.org (NIST National Vulnerability Database)
Documented patch — github.com (NIST National Vulnerability Database)

First 24 hours

Ordered from the record’s own fields — exposure first, because you cannot patch what you have not found. A rule-generated starting point.

Identify exposed assets running the affected vendor/product/version combinations (Debian Debian Linux, Fedoraproject Fedora, Libarchive Libarchive…).
The attack is network-based and needs no privileges: restrict exposure (ACLs, VPN, WAF) until patched.
Apply the fixed version or the patch documented under Remediation.
Search available logs for exploit probes matching the vulnerability class (memory corruption), errors and authentication anomalies.

Affected scope

Vendor, product and versions as the sources word them.

Vendor	Product	Versions	Status	Source
Debian	Debian Linux	version 10.0	Vulnerable	NIST National Vulnerability Database
Fedoraproject	Fedora	version 37	Vulnerable	NIST National Vulnerability Database
Libarchive	Libarchive	≥ 3.0.0 and < 3.6.2	Vulnerable	NIST National Vulnerability Database
Splunk	Universal Forwarder	≥ 8.2.0 and < 8.2.12≥ 9.0.0 and < 9.0.6version 9.1.0	Vulnerable	NIST National Vulnerability Database

Attack characteristics

The CVSS vector, decoded. It describes the attack, not your exposure to it.

Attack vector

Network

Attack complexity

Low

Privileges required

None

User interaction

None

Scope

Unchanged

Confidentiality

High

Integrity

High

Availability

High

Every base score collected

Sources score independently and may disagree; each row says who scored it and under which version.

Score	Version	Severity	Expl.	Impact	Scored by
9.8	CVSS 3.1	Critical	3.9	5.9	nvd@nist.gov via NIST National Vulnerability Database

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H (score shown at the top: nvd@nist.gov)

Weakness MITRE

Weakness class according to MITRE’s CWE catalog.

CWE-476 · NULL Pointer Dereference

Other CVEs with this weakness →

EPSS over time FIRST

Oct 13, 2026 → Oct 14, 2026 · 2 reading(s) · max 2.45%

Detection

Read off the CVSS vector and the weakness class. Starting points, not tested rules.

Prioritize edge telemetry for the network-reachable component (proxy, WAF, IDS/IPS).
Correlate service crashes/restarts with inbound traffic; repeated crashes may indicate attempts.

web/proxy/WAF logsnetwork IDS/IPSendpoint telemetry (EDR)crash dumps

Timeline

What happened to this CVE, newest first.

2026
SSVC assessment updated
Oct 13, 2026 · CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
Record published
Oct 13, 2026
Fix documented
Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
CVSS changed · 9.8
Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
Source status changed · → Modified
Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
Record created in this database
Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
2022
CVE published
Nov 21, 2022 · mitre

Source activity

Repeated readings are counted rather than listed.

1× Official description updated · Oct 13, 2026 – Oct 13, 2026

References

7 on the record

bugs.gentoo.org/882521
Issue Tracking, Patch, Third Party Advisory, NIST National Vulnerability Database
github.com/libarchive/libarchive/issues/1754
Issue Tracking, Patch, Third Party Advisory, NIST National Vulnerability Database
github.com/libarchive/libarchive/blob/v3.0.0a/libarchive/archive_write.c
Third Party Advisory, NIST National Vulnerability Database
lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2023/01/msg00034.html
Third Party Advisory, mailing-list, NIST National Vulnerability Database
lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/V67O
Mailing List, Third Party Advisory, vendor-advisory, NIST National Vulnerability Database
lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2024/11/msg00007.html
NIST National Vulnerability Database
security.gentoo.org/glsa/202309-14
Third Party Advisory, vendor-advisory, NIST National Vulnerability Database

Elsewhere on this site

Debian
every CVE for this vendor

Memory corruption
same class

CWE-476
other pages naming this weakness

Related CVEs (same products)

Low CVE-2025-64031 libarchive 3.8.x before 3.8.2 has a strcpy heap-based buffer overflow in the gzip writer via the... Sep 13, 2026
High CVE-2026-12996 A use-after-free in OpenVPN 2.6.0 through 2.6.20 and 2.7_alpha1 through 2.7.4 allows remote... Jul 30, 2026
Medium CVE-2026-14355 ext/openssl: Memory corruption in openssl_encrypt with AES-WRAP-PAD Jul 3, 2026
Medium CVE-2026-56968 Use of Uninitialized Resource in Gnu Sasl Jun 23, 2026
High CVE-2026-54230 Abrt: event handler scripts follow symlinks when writing output files, allowing arbitrary file overwrites Jun 13, 2026
Medium CVE-2026-54231 Abrt: unsanitized systemd journal content written to dump directory files enables content injection Jun 13, 2026

Not in any source we poll

Listed rather than left blank: an empty field and an unmeasured one look identical on screen, and only one is a reason to look elsewhere.

No confirmed IOCs, IP addresses, domains, file hashes, or malware artifacts supplied.
No organization-specific asset inventory, compensating-control status, or patch deployment evidence supplied.
No exploit packet captures, log samples, or incident case IDs supplied.

Answered from this record

Text assembled only from the fields above — no additional claims.

What should defenders know first?

CVE-2022-36227 is "NULL Pointer Dereference in Debian Debian Linux", rated Critical. It affects Debian Linux (Debian); versions are in the scope table. It is not in CISA KEV, which does not rule out exploitation. CVSS 9.8 describes technical severity. EPSS 2.45% estimates the probability of exploitation in 30 days; neither replaces your asset context. First verify whether exposed or business-critical assets run the affected versions, apply vendor fixes or mitigations, and preserve logs for review.

Comments

Moderated technical discussion. Read the community guidelines.

No comments yet.