CVE-2022-48620 – CVE-2022-48620 is a buffer overflow vulnerabili... (How to Fix)

Q: What is the severity of CVE-2022-48620?

CVE-2022-48620 has a CVSS score of 9.8 (CRITICAL). CVE-2022-48620 is a buffer overflow vulnerability in uev (libuev) that occurs when epoll_wait is called with a large maxevents value. This allows attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause denial of service. Systems using libuev versions before 2.4.1 are affected.

📋 TL;DR

CVE-2022-48620 is a buffer overflow vulnerability in uev (libuev) that occurs when epoll_wait is called with a large maxevents value. This allows attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause denial of service. Systems using libuev versions before 2.4.1 are affected.

💻 Affected Systems

Products:

libuev
uev

Versions: All versions before 2.4.1

Operating Systems: Linux, Unix-like systems

Default Config Vulnerable: ⚠️ Yes

Notes: Only affects applications that use libuev's epoll_wait function with untrusted maxevents parameter.

📦 What is this software?

Libeuv by Troglobit

View all CVEs affecting Libeuv →

⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact

🔴

Worst Case

Remote code execution leading to complete system compromise, data theft, or ransomware deployment.

🟠

Likely Case

Denial of service causing application crashes and service disruption.

🟢

If Mitigated

Limited impact with proper input validation and memory protections.

🌐 Internet-Facing: HIGH - If vulnerable applications are exposed to untrusted input.

🏢 Internal Only: MEDIUM - Requires internal network access but could be exploited by malicious insiders.

🎯 Exploit Status

Public PoC: ✅ No

Weaponized: UNKNOWN

Unauthenticated Exploit: ⚠️ Yes

Complexity: LOW

Exploitation requires control over the maxevents parameter passed to epoll_wait.

🛠️ Fix & Mitigation

✅ Official Fix

Patch Version: 2.4.1

Vendor Advisory: https://github.com/troglobit/libuev/commit/2d9f1c9ce655cc38511aeeb6e95ac30914f7aec9

Restart Required: Yes

Instructions:

1. Update libuev to version 2.4.1 or later. 2. Recompile applications using libuev. 3. Restart affected services.

🔧 Temporary Workarounds

Input validation wrapper

linux

Add validation to ensure maxevents parameter is within safe bounds before calling epoll_wait.

// Code example: if (maxevents > SAFE_LIMIT) return -EINVAL;

🧯 If You Can't Patch

Implement strict input validation for maxevents parameter in application code.
Use memory protection mechanisms like ASLR and stack canaries.

🔍 How to Verify

Check if Vulnerable:

Check libuev version with: pkg-config --modversion libuev

Check Version:

pkg-config --modversion libuev

Verify Fix Applied:

Verify version is 2.4.1 or higher: pkg-config --modversion libuev | grep -q '^2\.4\.[1-9]\|^[3-9]\|^2\.[5-9]'

📡 Detection & Monitoring

Log Indicators:

Application crashes with segmentation faults
Memory corruption errors in system logs

Network Indicators:

Unusual network traffic to services using libuev

SIEM Query:

source="*syslog*" AND ("segmentation fault" OR "buffer overflow") AND process="*uev*"

📊 Metadata

CVE ID: CVE-2022-48620

CVSS v3 Score: 9.8 (CRITICAL)

CVSS Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

CWE: CWE-120

Published: January 12, 2024

Last Updated: January 25, 2026

🔗 References

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