CVE-2022-39224 is a high-severity (CVSS 7) OS Command Injection vulnerability in arr-pm. 1 public exploit reference exists, so weaponization risk is real. A fix is available for arr-pm — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Arbitrary shell execution when extracting or listing files contained in a malicious rpm.
Exploitation Status
Proof-of-concept exploit code exists
- CISA’s SSVC triage found public proof-of-concept exploit code for this CVE, though no confirmed active exploitation.
- A successful exploit gives an attacker total control of the affected component, not partial access.
Exploitation and automatability from CISA’s SSVC triage for CVE-2022-39224.
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-2022-39224 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 377,166 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
arr-pmReal-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects RubyGems packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.
Description
Arr-pm is an RPM reader/writer library written in Ruby. Versions prior to 0.0.12 are subject to OS command injection resulting in shell execution if the RPM contains a malicious "payload compressor" field. This vulnerability impacts the extract and files methods of the RPM::File class of this library. Version 0.0.12 patches these issues. A workaround for this issue is to ensure any RPMs being processed contain valid/known payload compressor values such as gzip, bzip2, xz, zstd, and lzma. The payload compressor field in an rpm can be checked by using the rpm command line tool.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 💎RubyGems | arr-pm | all versions | 0.0.12bundle update arr-pm --conservative |
Research use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for arr-pm, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update arr-pm to 0.0.12 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2022-39224 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-2022-39224 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to CVE-2022-39224. 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-2022-39224 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds CVE-2022-39224 across RubyGems dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.