CVE-2022-31020 is a high-severity (CVSS 8.8) Improper Input Validation vulnerability in indy-node. A fix is available for indy-node — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Remote code execution in Indy's NODE_UPGRADE transaction
Exploitation Status
No confirmed exploitation observed yet
- A successful exploit gives an attacker total control of the affected component, not partial access.
- 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-2022-31020.
EPSS Exploitation Probability
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-2022-31020 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 377,333 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the < 10% band (highlighted). Real counts from FIRST.org, not a sample — log-scaled since the landscape is heavily right-skewed.
Real-World Exposure
indy-nodeReal-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
Indy Node is the server portion of a distributed ledger purpose-built for decentralized identity. In versions 1.12.4 and prior, the pool-upgrade request handler in Indy-Node allows an improperly authenticated attacker to remotely execute code on nodes within the network. The pool-upgrade request handler in Indy-Node 1.12.5 has been updated to properly authenticate pool-upgrade transactions before any processing is performed by the request handler. The transactions are further sanitized to prevent remote code execution. As a workaround, endorsers should not create DIDs for untrusted users. A vulnerable ledger should configure auth_rules to prevent new DIDs from being written to the ledger until the network can be upgraded.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐍PyPI | indy-node | all versions | 1.12.5rc1pip install --upgrade 'indy-node==1.12.5rc1' |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for indy-node, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update indy-node to 1.12.5rc1 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2022-31020 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.
How O3 protects you
O3 Security's impact-aware SCA analyses which vulnerable code paths your application actually calls, so a match like CVE-2022-31020 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to CVE-2022-31020. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2022-31020 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds CVE-2022-31020 across PyPI dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.