How severe is CVE-2022-23538?

CVE-2022-23538 has a CVSS score of 5.2/10, rated MEDIUM. Review your exposure and patch according to your risk tolerance.

Which packages are affected by CVE-2022-23538?

CVE-2022-23538 affects the following packages: github.com/sylabs/scs-library-client (Go), github.com/sylabs/scs-library-client (Go). Ecosystems affected: Go.

How do I fix CVE-2022-23538?

Update github.com/sylabs/scs-library-client to 1.4.2 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2022-23538 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.

How do I detect CVE-2022-23538 in my Go dependencies?

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

How do I mitigate CVE-2022-23538 if there is no patch (or I can't update yet)?

If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.

Is CVE-2022-23538 actively exploited in the wild?

No public exploit code has been indexed for CVE-2022-23538 yet. This does not mean the vulnerability cannot be exploited — absence of public exploits does not imply safety. Apply the recommended fix and use O3 Security to monitor your exposure.

What is the EPSS score for CVE-2022-23538?

CVE-2022-23538 has an EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) score of 0.7%, placing it in the 55th 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-2022-23538?

CVE-2022-23538 is classified as CWE-522 (CWE-522). This weakness type describe the underlying flaw category, which helps determine the potential impact and the right class of mitigation.

When was CVE-2022-23538 published, and has it been updated?

CVE-2022-23538 was published on January 17, 2023 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.

🐹

🐹 Go

Not in CISA KEV

MEDIUM severity

CVE-2022-23538 — scs-library-client

MEDIUMFix: sylabs/scs-library-client@68ac4ca

CVE-2022-23538 is a medium-severity (CVSS 5.2) CWE-522 vulnerability in github.com/sylabs/scs-library-client. A fix is available for github.com/sylabs/scs-library-client — see the affected versions and patch details below.

User credentials leaked to third-party service via HTTP redirect in scs-library-client

Also known asGHSA-7p8m-22h4-9pj7GO-2023-1497

Published

Jan 17, 2023

Updated

Oct 28, 2026

Affected

2 pkgs

Patched

2 / 2

Exploits

None indexed

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

Exploitation Status

No confirmed exploitation observed yet

CISA’s own triage has not observed active exploitation or public proof-of-concept code for this CVE as of its last assessment.

Exploitation and automatability from CISA’s SSVC triage for CVE-2022-23538.

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗

0.7%probability of exploitation in next 30 days

Lower Risk0.00%

Lower risk than most CVEs55th percentile — riskier than 55% 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

2 pkgs affected

🐹github.com/sylabs/scs-library-client🐹github.com/sylabs/scs-library-client

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

Description

Impact

When the scs-library-client is used to pull a container image, with authentication, the HTTP Authorization header sent by the client to the library service may be incorrectly leaked to an S3 backing storage provider. This occurs in a specific flow, where the library service redirects the client to a backing S3 storage server, to perform a multi-part concurrent download.

Depending on site configuration, the S3 service may be provided by a third party. An attacker with access to the S3 service may be able to extract user credentials, allowing them to impersonate the user.

The vulnerable multi-part concurrent download flow, with redirect to S3, is only used when communicating with a Singularity Enterprise 1.x installation, or third party server implementing this flow.

Interaction with Singularity Enterprise 2.x, and Singularity Container Services (cloud.sylabs.io), does not trigger the vulnerable flow.

We encourage all users to update. Users who interact with a Singularity Enterprise 1.x installation, using a 3rd party S3 storage service, are advised to revoke and recreate their authentication tokens within Singularity Enterprise.

Patches

The security issue was identified after the integration of a bug-fix commit 68ac4ca into the previously released scs-library-client 1.3.4. This commit fixes the security issue in the 1.3 series.

scs-library-client 1.4.2 contains a fix for the same vulnerability in the 1.4 series, as commit eebd7ca.

Workarounds

There is no workaround available at this time.

As above, access to Singularity Enterprise 2.x, or Singularity Container Services (cloud.sylabs.io), does not trigger the vulnerable flow.

References

https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/522.html

Affected Packages

2 total 2 fixed

Ecosystem	Package	Vulnerable range	Fix
🐹Go	`github.com/sylabs/scs-library-client`	≥ 1.4.0&&< 1.4.2	1.4.2`go get github.com/sylabs/scs-library-client@v1.4.2`
🐹Go	`github.com/sylabs/scs-library-client`	all versions	1.3.4`go get github.com/sylabs/scs-library-client@v1.3.4`

Affected Products

1 product · 4 configurations

Application

singularity container services librarysylabs

4 versions

1.3.21.3.31.4.01.4.1

Detection & mitigation playbook

Open-source dependency

Detect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for github.com/sylabs/scs-library-client, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update github.com/sylabs/scs-library-client to 1.4.2 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2022-23538 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.

Frequently Asked Questions

### Impact When the scs-library-client is used to pull a container image, with authentication, the HTTP Authorization header sent by the client to the library service may be incorrectly leaked to an S3 backing storage provider. This occurs in a specific flow, where the library service redirects the client to a backing S3 storage server, to perform a multi-part concurrent download. Depending on site configuration, the S3 service may be provided by a third party. An attacker with access to the S3 service may be able to extract user credentials, allowing them to impersonate the user. The vulne