How severe is CVE-2022-26485?

CVE-2022-26485 has a CVSS score of 8.8/10, rated HIGH. Immediate patching is strongly recommended.

Which packages are affected by CVE-2022-26485?

Affected package information for CVE-2022-26485 is not yet fully mapped. Check the official advisory links for details.

How do I fix CVE-2022-26485?

No patched version of the affected component has shipped for CVE-2022-26485 yet. Where your build allows, override or pin the dependency away from the vulnerable range, and apply any maintainer-recommended mitigation.

How do I detect CVE-2022-26485 in my code and dependencies?

Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for the affected component. O3's reachability analysis confirms whether the vulnerable code path is actually invoked in your application, so you act on real exposure instead of every transitive match.

How do I mitigate CVE-2022-26485 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.

How does O3 Security protect against CVE-2022-26485?

O3 pinpoints whether CVE-2022-26485 is reachable in your code and exactly where to fix it, then blocks exploitation in production at runtime until the patched version is deployed.

Is CVE-2022-26485 actively exploited in the wild?

Yes. There are 6 known exploit references for CVE-2022-26485, including 5 in-the-wild exploitations 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-2022-26485?

CVE-2022-26485 has an EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) score of 14.3%, placing it in the 96th 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 warrants monitoring and prompt remediation.

Is CVE-2022-26485 in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog?

Yes. CVE-2022-26485 (Mozilla Firefox Use-After-Free Vulnerability) was added to CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog on 2022-03-07. CISA required all US federal civilian agencies to remediate this vulnerability by 2022-03-21. The required action was: Apply updates per vendor instructions. Being listed in the KEV catalog is the strongest possible confirmation of active exploitation — treat this as a critical priority.

What type of vulnerability is CVE-2022-26485?

CVE-2022-26485 is classified as Use After Free (CWE-416). This weakness type describe the underlying flaw category, which helps determine the potential impact and the right class of mitigation.

When was CVE-2022-26485 published, and has it been updated?

CVE-2022-26485 was published on December 22, 2022 and was last updated on April 16, 2026. Advisory data evolves as severity scores, affected ranges, and exploit intelligence are revised — always check the latest version of the advisory before acting.

🛡️

CISA KEV · ACTIVELY EXPLOITED

HIGH severity

CVE-2022-26485

HIGH

CVE-2022-26485 is a high-severity (CVSS 8.8) Use After Free vulnerability. It is in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2022-03-07) — treat it as actively exploited and patch now. O3 Security confirms whether CVE-2022-26485 is actually reachable in your code before you act, and blocks exploitation at runtime until you patch.

Published

Dec 22, 2022

Updated

Apr 16, 2026

Affected

0 pkgs

Patched

None yet

Exploits

6 known

Exploitation data as of Aug 27, 2026 · OSV.dev, NVD, CISA KEV, FIRST.org (EPSS)

Exploitation Status

Actively exploited in the wild

Confirmed by CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on 2022-03-07. Federal agencies were required to remediate by 2022-03-21.
A successful exploit gives an attacker total control of the affected component, not partial access.

Exploitation and automatability from CISA (KEV catalog and SSVC triage) for CVE-2022-26485.

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗

14.3%probability of exploitation in next 30 days

Moderate Risk0.00%

Lower risk than most CVEs96th percentile — riskier than 96% of all scored CVEsHighest risk

EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) is a daily probability model maintained by FIRST.org. It estimates the likelihood a CVE will be exploited in production environments within the next 30 days, derived from real-world threat intelligence signals.

How urgent is this, really

CVE-2022-26485 plotted by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). The shaded corner — EPSS 50%+ and CVSS 7.0+ — is where this CVE doesn't sit, though severity or exploitability alone can still warrant action.

Where this sits among everything scored

Of 370,894 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the 10–50% band (highlighted). Real counts from FIRST.org, not a sample — log-scaled since the landscape is heavily right-skewed.

Description

Removing an XSLT parameter during processing could have lead to an exploitable use-after-free. We have had reports of attacks in the wild abusing this flaw. This vulnerability affects Firefox < 97.0.2, Firefox ESR < 91.6.1, Firefox for Android < 97.3.0, Thunderbird < 91.6.2, and Focus < 97.3.0.

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.