CVE-2022-39202
MEDIUMCVE-2022-39202 is a medium-severity (CVSS 4.3) Improper Privilege Management vulnerability in matrix-appservice-irc. O3 Security confirms whether CVE-2022-39202 is actually reachable in your code before you act, and blocks exploitation at runtime until you patch.
IRC mode parameter confusion in matrix-appservice-irc
Blast Radius
matrix-appservice-ircReal-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects npm packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.
Description
matrix-appservice-irc is an open source Node.js IRC bridge for Matrix. The Internet Relay Chat (IRC) protocol allows you to specify multiple modes in a single mode command. Due to a bug in the underlying matrix-org/node-irc library, affected versions of matrix-appservice-irc perform parsing of such modes incorrectly, potentially resulting in the wrong user being given permissions. Mode commands can only be executed by privileged users, so this can only be abused if an operator is tricked into running the command on behalf of an attacker. The vulnerability has been patched in matrix-appservice-irc 0.35.0. As a workaround users should refrain from entering mode commands suggested by untrusted users. Avoid using multiple modes in a single command.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 📦npm | matrix-appservice-irc | all versions | 0.35.0 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for matrix-appservice-irc. 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.
Fix
Update matrix-appservice-irc to 0.35.0 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2022-39202 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 pinpoints whether CVE-2022-39202 is reachable in your code and exactly where to fix it, then blocks exploitation in production at runtime until the patched version is deployed.
Tailored to CVE-2022-39202. 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-2022-39202 in your dependencies?
O3 detects CVE-2022-39202 across npm dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.