CVE-2022-23529: Jsonwebtoken Jsonwebtoken Has Insecure Input Validation Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-27h2-hvpr-p74q
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CVSS 7.6
CWE-20
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2022-23529 is a HIGH (CVSS 7.6) jsonwebtoken has insecure input validation vulnerability (CWE-20: Improper Input Validation) affecting Jsonwebtoken libraries in the npm ecosystem. The issue involves jsonwebtoken has insecure input validation in jwt.verify function. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 9.0.0.

CVE-2022-23529 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2022-23529
GHSA Identifier GHSA-27h2-hvpr-p74q
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 7.6
CWE Classification CWE-20: Improper Input Validation
Affected Product Jsonwebtoken
Package Ecosystem npm
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 7.6

The security impact metrics below are parsed directly from the CVSS v3.1 vector string (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:H/A:L).

Attack Vector Network (AV:N)
Attack Complexity Low (AC:L)
Privileges Required Low (PR:L)
User Interaction None (UI:N)
Scope Unchanged (S:U)
Confidentiality Low (C:L)
Integrity High (I:H)
Availability Low (A:L)

How to Fix CVE-2022-23529

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Jsonwebtoken dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.

jsonwebtoken fixed: 9.0.0 
npm install jsonwebtoken@9.0.0
Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

Run the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release: 

npm ls jsonwebtoken

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Node.js application is affected by CVE-2022-23529, inspect your project dependencies using npm:

npm ls jsonwebtoken

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Jsonwebtoken in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 9.0.0), your application is affected.

Note: The npm ls jsonwebtoken command inspects dependencies declared in your package.json and lockfile; it does not perform automated runtime dynamic scanning.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-20: Improper Input Validation, where the product receives input or data, but it does not validate or incorrectly validates that the input has the properties that are required to process the data safely and correctly. In Jsonwebtoken, software state validation or input boundaries are circumvented during processing. Review the official source advisory statement below for specific affected components, classes, and reproduction details.

Source Advisory Statement

# Overview For versions `<=8.5.1` of `jsonwebtoken` library, if a malicious actor has the ability to modify the key retrieval parameter (referring to the `secretOrPublicKey` argument from the [readme link](https://github.com/auth0/node-jsonwebtoken#jwtverifytoken-secretorpublickey-options-callback)) of the `jwt.verify()` function, they can gain remote code execution (RCE). # Am I affected? This security issue is a concern when the `jsonwebtoken` library is used in an insecure way. Users are affected only if they allow untrusted entities to modify the key retrieval parameter of the `jwt.verify()` on a host that you control. In this scenario, if all the prerequisites are met, the issue may be exploitable. The source of this risk in this scenario would be in the calling code, and not in the library itself. # How do I fix it? Users of jsonwebtoken 8.5.1 and earlier are encouraged to update to the latest version, 9.0.0, which presents safer code and important security checks that fixes this security flaw and others and prevents misuse of the package.

CVE-2022-23529 Affected Jsonwebtoken Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
9.0.0
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
jsonwebtoken
npm/jsonwebtoken
npm
< 9.0.0
9.0.0

References

GitHub Advisory / Wiki ADVISORY
https://github.com/auth0/node-jsonwebtoken/security/advisories/GHSA-27h2-hvpr-p74q
NVD — CVE-2022-23529 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-23529
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/auth0/node-jsonwebtoken/commit/e1fa9dcc12054a8681db4e6373da1b30cf7016e3
Jsonwebtoken Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/auth0/node-jsonwebtoken

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2022-23529?
CVE-2022-23529 is a security vulnerability in Jsonwebtoken involving jsonwebtoken has insecure input validation in jwt.verify function under CWE-20: Improper Input Validation.
Which Jsonwebtoken versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 9.0.0 across affected packages: jsonwebtoken.
What version fixes CVE-2022-23529?
Upgrading to 9.0.0 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is jsonwebtoken affected?
Yes, jsonwebtoken is affected in releases prior to 9.0.0. Upgrade your dependency to 9.0.0 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2022-23529?
CVE-2022-23529 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.6 (HIGH) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:H/A:L.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2022-23529?
CVE-2022-23529 is classified under CWE-20: Improper Input Validation (The product receives input or data, but it does not validate or incorrectly validates that the input has the properties that are required to process the data safely and correctly.).
How can I check npm dependencies for CVE-2022-23529?
Run the dependency tree command: 'npm ls jsonwebtoken'. This command lists direct and transitive dependencies in your build configuration so you can verify if a vulnerable version is resolved.
Machine-readable OSV JSON OSV v1.5 Schema
Normalized schema output
View Raw JSON 
{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-27h2-hvpr-p74q",
  "modified" : "2023-01-27T21:51:55Z",
  "published" : "2022-12-22T03:31:28Z",
  "withdrawn" : "2023-01-27T21:51:55Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2022-23529" ],
  "summary" : "jsonwebtoken has insecure input validation in jwt.verify function",
  "details" : "# Overview\n\nFor versions `<=8.5.1` of `jsonwebtoken` library, if a malicious actor has the ability to modify the key retrieval parameter (referring to the `secretOrPublicKey` argument from the [readme link](https://github.com/auth0/node-jsonwebtoken#jwtverifytoken-secretorpublickey-options-callback)) of the `jwt.verify()` function, they can gain remote code execution (RCE).\n\n# Am I affected?\n\nThis security issue is a concern when the `jsonwebtoken` library is used in an insecure way. Users are affected only if they allow untrusted entities to modify the key retrieval parameter of the `jwt.verify()` on a host that you control. In this scenario, if all the prerequisites are met, the issue may be exploitable. The source of this risk in this scenario would be in the calling code, and not in the library itself.\n\n# How do I fix it?\n\nUsers of jsonwebtoken 8.5.1 and earlier are encouraged to update to the latest version, 9.0.0, which presents safer code and important security checks that fixes this security flaw and others and prevents misuse of the package.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:H/A:L"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "npm",
      "name" : "jsonwebtoken"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "9.0.0"
      } ]
    } ],
    "database_specific" : {
      "last_known_affected_version_range" : "<= 8.5.1"
    }
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/auth0/node-jsonwebtoken/security/advisories/GHSA-27h2-hvpr-p74q"
  }, {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-23529"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/auth0/node-jsonwebtoken/commit/e1fa9dcc12054a8681db4e6373da1b30cf7016e3"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/auth0/node-jsonwebtoken"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-20" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2022-12-22T03:31:28Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2022-12-21T21:15:00Z"
  }
}