How severe is CVE-2022-39202?

CVE-2022-39202 has a CVSS score of 4.3/10, rated MEDIUM. Review your exposure and patch according to your risk tolerance.

Which packages are affected by CVE-2022-39202?

CVE-2022-39202 affects the following packages: matrix-appservice-irc (npm). Ecosystems affected: npm.

How do I fix CVE-2022-39202?

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.

How do I detect CVE-2022-39202 in my npm dependencies?

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

How do I mitigate CVE-2022-39202 if there is no patch (or I can't update yet)?

Close the privilege gap rather than the entry point: audit which accounts, roles and service identities can reach the affected operation, drop the component to the least privilege it actually needs, and review file and directory permissions created by earlier installs — a default left in place is what makes this reachable.

Is CVE-2022-39202 actively exploited in the wild?

No public exploit code has been indexed for CVE-2022-39202 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-2022-39202?

CVE-2022-39202 has an EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) score of 0.9%, placing it in the 59th 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-2022-39202?

CVE-2022-39202 is classified as Improper Privilege Management (CWE-269). This weakness type describe the underlying flaw category, which helps determine the potential impact and the right class of mitigation.

When was CVE-2022-39202 published, and has it been updated?

CVE-2022-39202 was published on September 13, 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.

📦

📦 npm

Not in CISA KEV

MEDIUM severity

CVE-2022-39202 — matrix-appservice-irc

MEDIUMFix: matrix-org/matrix-appservice-irc@5f87dbe

CVE-2022-39202 is a medium-severity (CVSS 4.3) Improper Privilege Management vulnerability in matrix-appservice-irc. A fix is available for matrix-appservice-irc — see the affected versions and patch details below.

IRC mode parameter confusion in matrix-appservice-irc

Also known asGHSA-cq7q-5c67-w39w

Published

Sep 13, 2022

Updated

Oct 28, 2026

Affected

1 pkg

Patched

1 / 1

Exploits

None indexed

Exploitation data as of Nov 4, 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-2022-39202.

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗

0.9%probability of exploitation in next 30 days

Lower Risk0.00%

Lower risk than most CVEs59th percentile — riskier than 59% 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

How broadly this vulnerability is actually deployed: weekly install volume shows current usage, and reverse-dependency count shows how many other packages break if it stays unpatched.

0other npm packages depend on this — each one inherits the vulnerability until it's patched upstream

matrix-appservice-ircnpm

573downloads / week

Description

Impact

IRC 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.

Patches

The vulnerability has been patched in matrix-appservice-irc 0.35.0.

Workarounds

Refrain from entering mode commands suggested by untrusted users. Avoid using multiple modes in a single command.

References

https://matrix.org/blog/2022/09/13/security-release-of-matrix-appservice-irc-0-35-0-high-severity

Credits

Discovered and reported by Val Lorentz.

For more information

If you have any questions or comments about this advisory email us at [email protected].

Affected Packages

1 total 1 fixed

Ecosystem	Package	Vulnerable range	Fix
📦npm	`matrix-appservice-irc`	all versions	0.35.0`npm install matrix-appservice-irc@0.35.0`

Affected Products

1 product · 1 configurations

Application

matrix irc bridgematrix

< 0.35.0

range

Detection & mitigation playbook

Open-source dependency

Detect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for matrix-appservice-irc, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
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
Close the privilege gap rather than the entry point: audit which accounts, roles and service identities can reach the affected operation, drop the component to the least privilege it actually needs, and review file and directory permissions created by earlier installs — a default left in place is what makes this reachable.

Frequently Asked Questions

### Impact IRC 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. ### Patches The vulnerability has been patched in matrix-appservice-irc 0.35.0. ### Workarounds Refrain from entering mode commands suggested by