CVE-2022-44940 is a critical-severity (CVSS 9.1) Out-of-bounds Read vulnerability in patchelf. 1 public exploit or proof-of-concept reference is indexed, so weaponization risk is real. A fix is available for patchelf — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Patchelf out-of-bounds read
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.
- CISA assesses this as automatable — exploitation doesn’t require manual, per-target effort, which raises the odds of mass scanning and opportunistic attacks.
- 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-2022-44940.
EPSS Exploitation Probability
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
patchelfReal-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
Patchelf v0.9 was discovered to contain an out-of-bounds read via the function modifyRPath at src/patchelf.cc.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐍PyPI | patchelf | all versions | 0.16.1.0pip install --upgrade 'patchelf==0.16.1.0' |
Affected Products
patchelfpatchelf_projectResearch 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 patchelf, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update patchelf to 0.16.1.0 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2022-44940 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
Constrain what reaches the vulnerable code: limit the size and shape of untrusted input, isolate the affected component in a sandboxed or least-privileged process, and enable the platform's memory-safety mitigations (ASLR, stack protector, hardened allocator) so an out-of-bounds access is more likely to fail closed than to be exploitable.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2022-44940 in your dependencies?
Find it across PyPI, including transitive dependencies.