CVE-2022-39299 is a high-severity (CVSS 7.4) CWE-347 vulnerability in passport-saml. 2 public exploit references exist, so weaponization risk is real. A fix is available for passport-saml — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Signature bypass via multiple root elements in Passport-SAML
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-2022-39299.
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-2022-39299 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 377,238 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
How broadly this vulnerability is actually deployed: weekly install volume shows current usage, a proxy for how much of the ecosystem is exposed.
passport-samlnpmnode-samlnpm@node-saml/node-samlnpmDescription
Passport-SAML is a SAML 2.0 authentication provider for Passport, the Node.js authentication library. A remote attacker may be able to bypass SAML authentication on a website using passport-saml. A successful attack requires that the attacker is in possession of an arbitrary IDP signed XML element. Depending on the IDP used, fully unauthenticated attacks (e.g without access to a valid user) might also be feasible if generation of a signed message can be triggered. Users should upgrade to passport-saml version 3.2.2 or newer. The issue was also present in the beta releases of node-saml before version 4.0.0-beta.5. If you cannot upgrade, disabling SAML authentication may be done as a workaround.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 📦npm | passport-saml | all versions | 3.2.2npm install passport-saml@3.2.2 |
| 📦npm | node-saml | all versions | 4.0.0-beta.5npm install node-saml@4.0.0-beta.5 |
| 📦npm | @node-saml/node-saml | all versions | 4.0.0-beta.5npm install @node-saml/node-saml@4.0.0-beta.5 |
| 📦npm | @node-saml/passport-saml | all versions | 4.0.0-beta.3npm install @node-saml/passport-saml@4.0.0-beta.3 |
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 passport-saml, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update passport-saml to 3.2.2 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2022-39299 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-2022-39299 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to CVE-2022-39299. 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-2022-39299 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds CVE-2022-39299 across npm dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.