How severe is CVE-2022-0860?

CVE-2022-0860 has a CVSS score of 8.2/10, rated HIGH. Immediate patching is strongly recommended.

Which packages are affected by CVE-2022-0860?

CVE-2022-0860 affects the following packages: cobbler (PyPI). Ecosystems affected: PyPI.

How do I fix CVE-2022-0860?

Update cobbler to 3.3.2 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2022-0860 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.

How do I detect CVE-2022-0860 in my PyPI dependencies?

Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for cobbler, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.

How do I mitigate CVE-2022-0860 if there is no patch (or I can't update yet)?

Put an independent control in front of the weakness: restrict the affected endpoint or interface to trusted networks, require an additional authentication factor or proxy-level check, and invalidate existing sessions and credentials in case the flaw has already been used.

Is CVE-2022-0860 actively exploited in the wild?

Yes. There are 1 known exploit references for CVE-2022-0860, including 1 in-the-wild exploitation observed on GitHub and other sources. Treat this as actively exploitable and prioritize patching immediately. All exploit code should only be run in an isolated sandbox environment for research or authorized testing — never against production systems without explicit written authorization.

What is the EPSS score for CVE-2022-0860?

CVE-2022-0860 has an EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) score of 2.3%, placing it in the 83th percentile of all CVEs. EPSS is maintained by FIRST.org and estimates the probability that a vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. This score indicates relatively lower exploitation probability, though the CVSS severity should still guide your patching priority.

What type of vulnerability is CVE-2022-0860?

CVE-2022-0860 is classified as CWE-285 (CWE-285), CWE-863 (CWE-863). These weakness types describe the underlying flaw category, which helps determine the potential impact and the right class of mitigation.

When was CVE-2022-0860 published, and has it been updated?

CVE-2022-0860 was published on March 11, 2022 and was last updated on October 28, 2026. Advisory data evolves as severity scores, affected ranges, and exploit intelligence are revised — always check the latest version of the advisory before acting.

🐍

🐍 PyPI

Not in CISA KEV

HIGH severity

CVE-2022-0860 — cobbler

HIGHFix: cobbler/cobbler@9044aa9

CVE-2022-0860 is a high-severity (CVSS 8.2) CWE-285 vulnerability in cobbler. 1 public exploit or proof-of-concept reference is indexed, so weaponization risk is real. A fix is available for cobbler — see the affected versions and patch details below.

Improper Authorization in cobbler/cobbler

Also known asGHSA-mcg6-h362-cmq5PYSEC-2022-177

Published

Mar 11, 2022

Updated

Oct 28, 2026

Affected

1 pkg

Patched

1 / 1

Exploits

1 known

Exploitation data as of Nov 5, 2026 · OSV.dev, NVD, FIRST.org (EPSS)

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗

2.3%probability of exploitation in next 30 days

Lower Risk0.00%

Lower risk than most CVEs83th percentile — riskier than 83% of all scored CVEsHighest risk

Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.

How urgent is this, really

Where this sits among everything scored

Real-World Exposure

1 pkg affected

🐍cobbler

Real-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects PyPI packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.

Description

Impact

If PAM is correctly configured and a user account is set to expired, the expired user-account is still able to successfully log into Cobbler in all places (Web UI, CLI & XMLRPC-API).

The same applies to user accounts with passwords set to be expired.

Patches

There is a patch for the latest Cobbler 3.3.2 available, however a backport will be done for 3.2.x.

Workarounds

Delete expired accounts which are able to access Cobbler via PAM.
Use chage -l <username> to lock the account. If the account has SSH-Keys attached then remove them completely.

References

Originally discovered by @ysf at https://www.huntr.dev/bounties/c458b868-63df-414e-af10-47e3745caa1d/

How to test if my Cobbler instance is affected?

The following pytest test assumes that your PAM setup is correct. In case the added user is not able to login, this test does not make sense to be executed.

def test_pam_login_with_expired_user():
    # Arrange
    # create pam testuser
    test_username = "expired_user"
    test_password = "password"
    test_api = CobblerAPI()
    subprocess_1 = subprocess.run(
        ["perl", "-e", "'print crypt(\"%s\", \"%s\")'" % (test_username, test_password)],
        stdout=subprocess.PIPE
    )
    subprocess.run(["useradd", "-p", subprocess_1.stdout, test_username])
    # change user to be expired
    subprocess.run(["chage", "-E0", test_username])

    # Act
    result = pam.authenticate(test_api, test_username, test_password)

    # Assert - login should fail
    assert not result

For more information

If you have any questions or comments about this advisory:

Open an issue in the Cobbler repository
Ask in the Gitter/Matrix Chat
Email us at [email protected]

Affected Packages

1 total 1 fixed

Ecosystem	Package	Vulnerable range	Fix
🐍PyPI	`cobbler`	all versions	3.3.2`pip install --upgrade 'cobbler==3.3.2'`

Affected Products

2 products · 4 configurations

Application

cobblercobbler_project

< 3.3.2

range

fedorafedoraproject

3 versions

343536

Exploits & PoCs

Research use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.

Improper Authorization in GitHub repository cobbler/cobbler prior to 3.3…

huntr.devNVDMar 2022

Detection & mitigation playbook

Open-source dependency

Detect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for cobbler, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update cobbler to 3.3.2 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2022-0860 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
Put an independent control in front of the weakness: restrict the affected endpoint or interface to trusted networks, require an additional authentication factor or proxy-level check, and invalidate existing sessions and credentials in case the flaw has already been used.

Frequently Asked Questions

### Impact If PAM is correctly configured and a user account is set to expired, the expired user-account is still able to successfully log into Cobbler in all places (Web UI, CLI & XMLRPC-API). The same applies to user accounts with passwords set to be expired. ### Patches There is a patch for the latest Cobbler `3.3.2` available, however a backport will be done for `3.2.x`. ### Workarounds - Delete expired accounts which are able to access Cobbler via PAM. - Use `chage -l <username>` to lock the account. If the account has SSH-Keys attached then remove them completely. ### References

O3 Security · Impact-Aware SCA

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