How severe is CVE-2022-46164?

CVE-2022-46164 has a CVSS score of 9.4/10, rated CRITICAL. Immediate patching is strongly recommended.

Which packages are affected by CVE-2022-46164?

CVE-2022-46164 affects the following packages: nodebb (npm). Ecosystems affected: npm.

How do I fix CVE-2022-46164?

Update nodebb to 2.6.1 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2022-46164 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.

How do I detect CVE-2022-46164 in my npm dependencies?

Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for nodebb. 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.

How do I mitigate CVE-2022-46164 if there is no patch (or I can't update yet)?

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 does O3 Security protect against CVE-2022-46164?

O3 pinpoints whether CVE-2022-46164 is reachable in your code and exactly where to fix it, then blocks exploitation in production at runtime until the patched version is deployed.

Is CVE-2022-46164 actively exploited in the wild?

Yes. There are 2 known exploit references for CVE-2022-46164, including 1 in-the-wild exploitation observed on GitHub and other sources. Treat this as actively exploitable and prioritize patching immediately. All exploit code should only be run in an isolated sandbox environment for research or authorized testing — never against production systems without explicit written authorization.

What is the EPSS score for CVE-2022-46164?

CVE-2022-46164 has an EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) score of 49.0%, placing it in the 99th 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 warrants monitoring and prompt remediation.

When was CVE-2022-46164 published, and has it been updated?

CVE-2022-46164 was published on December 5, 2022 and was last updated on April 10, 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

CVE-2022-46164

CRITICAL

Account takeover via prototype vulnerability

Also known asGHSA-rf3g-v8p5-p675

Published

Dec 5, 2022

Updated

Apr 10, 2026

Affected

1 pkg

Patched

1 / 1

Exploits

2 known

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗

49.0%probability of exploitation in next 30 days

High Risk99th percentile-7.84%

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.

Blast Radius

1 pkg affected

📦nodebb

Real-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

NodeBB is an open source Node.js based forum software. Due to a plain object with a prototype being used in socket.io message handling a specially crafted payload can be used to impersonate other users and takeover accounts. This vulnerability has been patched in version 2.6.1. Users are advised to upgrade. Users unable to upgrade may cherry-pick commit 48d143921753914da45926cca6370a92ed0c46b8 into their codebase to patch the exploit.

Affected Packages

1 total 1 fixed

Ecosystem	Package	Vulnerable range	Fix
📦npm	`nodebb`	all versions	2.6.1

Exploits & PoCs

Research use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.

NodeBB is an open source Node.js based forum software. Due to a plain ob…

github.comGithubJan 2023

Detection & mitigation playbook

Open-source dependency

Detect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for nodebb. 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 nodebb to 2.6.1 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2022-46164 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-2022-46164 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-2022-46164. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.

Frequently Asked Questions

NodeBB is an open source Node.js based forum software. Due to a plain object with a prototype being used in socket.io message handling a specially crafted payload can be used to impersonate other users and takeover accounts. This vulnerability has been patched in version 2.6.1. Users are advised to upgrade. Users unable to upgrade may cherry-pick commit `48d143921753914da45926cca6370a92ed0c46b8` into their codebase to patch the exploit.

O3 Security · Impact-Aware SCA

Is CVE-2022-46164 in your dependencies?

O3 detects CVE-2022-46164 across npm dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.

Scan my dependencies How O3 SCA works