CVE-2022-39335: Matrix synapse Synapse Does Not Apply Enough Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-45cj-f97f-ggwv
CVSS 5.0
CWE-862 CWE-200
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2022-39335 is a HIGH (CVSS 5.0) synapse does not apply enough vulnerability (CWE-862: Missing Authorization) affecting Matrix synapse libraries in the PyPI ecosystem. The issue involves synapse does not apply enough checks to servers requesting auth events of events in a room. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 1.69.0.

CVE-2022-39335 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2022-39335
GHSA Identifier GHSA-45cj-f97f-ggwv
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 5.0
CWE Classification CWE-862: Missing Authorization
Affected Product Matrix synapse
Package Ecosystem PyPI
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 5.0

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

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

How to Fix CVE-2022-39335

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

matrix-synapse fixed: 1.69.0
pip install matrix-synapse>=1.69.0
Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

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

pip show matrix-synapse

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Python environment is affected by CVE-2022-39335, inspect your installed packages using pip:

pip show matrix-synapse

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Matrix synapse in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 1.69.0), your application is affected.

Note: The pip show matrix-synapse command checks currently installed packages in your active Python environment.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-862: Missing Authorization, where the product does not perform an authorization check when an actor attempts to access a resource or perform an action. In Matrix synapse, 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

### Impact Synapse is an open-source Matrix homeserver written and maintained by the Matrix.org Foundation. The Matrix Federation API allows remote homeservers to request the *authorisation events* of events in a room. This is necessary so that a homeserver receiving some events can validate that those events are legitimate and permitted in their room. However, in versions of Synapse up to and including 1.68.0, a Synapse homeserver answering a query for authorisation events does not sufficiently check that the requesting server should be able to access them. Authorisation events include power level events (the list of user IDs and their power levels at the time) and relevant membership events (including the display name of the sender of that event), as well as events like `m.room.create`, `m.room.third_party_invite` and `m.room.join_rules`. Non-authorisation events are unaffected, so it isn't possible to e.g. extract message contents this way. This issue is only exploitable when a malicious actor knows the ID of a target room and the ID of an event from that room. In most cases, this makes exploitation infeasible. This issue is of negligible consequence for public rooms given that any server can easily join the room in order to be allowed to view authorisation events. Further, deployments in a closed federation where all homeservers are trustworthy are not affected. ### Patches The issue was patched in Synapse 1.69.0. Homeserver administrators are advised to upgrade. ### Workarounds Synapse can be configured with a list of servers that it is allowed to federate with [`federation_domain_whitelist`]. If this list is in use and all the servers on the list are trusted not to exploit this issue, then this issue is of no consequence. This workaround is not practical for homeservers participating in open federation as interaction with any server not on the list would have to happen indirectly through servers that are, leading to inconsistent delays in message delivery. [`federation_domain_whitelist`]: https://matrix-org.github.io/synapse/v1.68/usage/configuration/config_documentation.html#federation_domain_whitelist ### References Fixed in https://github.com/matrix-org/synapse/pull/13823. ### For more information If you have any questions or comments about this advisory, e-mail us at security@matrix.org.

CVE-2022-39335 Affected Matrix synapse Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
1.69.0
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
matrix-synapse
PyPI
< 1.69.0
1.69.0

References

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2022-39335?
CVE-2022-39335 is a security vulnerability in Matrix synapse involving Synapse does not apply enough checks to servers requesting auth events of events in a room under CWE-862: Missing Authorization.
Which Matrix synapse versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 1.69.0 across affected packages: matrix-synapse.
What version fixes CVE-2022-39335?
Upgrading to 1.69.0 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is matrix-synapse affected?
Yes, matrix-synapse is affected in releases prior to 1.69.0. Upgrade your dependency to 1.69.0 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2022-39335?
CVE-2022-39335 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 5.0 (HIGH) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2022-39335?
CVE-2022-39335 is classified under CWE-862: Missing Authorization (The product does not perform an authorization check when an actor attempts to access a resource or perform an action.).
How can I check PyPI dependencies for CVE-2022-39335?
Run the dependency tree command: 'pip show matrix-synapse'. 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
{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-45cj-f97f-ggwv",
  "modified" : "2024-09-24T20:30:11Z",
  "published" : "2023-05-24T17:20:43Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2022-39335" ],
  "summary" : "Synapse does not apply enough checks to servers requesting auth events of events in a room",
  "details" : "### Impact\nSynapse is an open-source Matrix homeserver written and maintained by the Matrix.org Foundation. The Matrix Federation API allows remote homeservers to request the *authorisation events* of events in a room. This is necessary so that a homeserver receiving some events can validate that those events are legitimate and permitted in their room.\nHowever, in versions of Synapse up to and including 1.68.0, a Synapse homeserver answering a query for authorisation events does not sufficiently check that the requesting server should be able to access them.\n\nAuthorisation events include power level events (the list of user IDs and their power levels at the time) and relevant membership events (including the display name of the sender of that event), as well as events like `m.room.create`, `m.room.third_party_invite` and `m.room.join_rules`. Non-authorisation events are unaffected, so it isn't possible to e.g. extract message contents this way.\n\nThis issue is only exploitable when a malicious actor knows the ID of a target room and the ID of an event from that room. In most cases, this makes exploitation infeasible. This issue is of negligible consequence for public rooms given that any server can easily join the room in order to be allowed to view authorisation events. Further, deployments in a closed federation where all homeservers are trustworthy are not affected.\n\n\n### Patches\n\nThe issue was patched in Synapse 1.69.0. Homeserver administrators are advised to upgrade.\n\n\n### Workarounds\n\nSynapse can be configured with a list of servers that it is allowed to federate with [`federation_domain_whitelist`]. If this list is in use and all the servers on the list are trusted not to exploit this issue, then this issue is of no consequence.\n\nThis workaround is not practical for homeservers participating in open federation as interaction with any server not on the list would have to happen indirectly through servers that are, leading to inconsistent delays in message delivery.\n\n[`federation_domain_whitelist`]: https://matrix-org.github.io/synapse/v1.68/usage/configuration/config_documentation.html#federation_domain_whitelist\n\n### References\n\nFixed in https://github.com/matrix-org/synapse/pull/13823.\n\n\n### For more information\n\nIf you have any questions or comments about this advisory, e-mail us at security@matrix.org.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L"
  }, {
    "type" : "CVSS_V4",
    "score" : "CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:H/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "PyPI",
      "name" : "matrix-synapse"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "1.69.0"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/matrix-org/synapse/security/advisories/GHSA-45cj-f97f-ggwv"
  }, {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-39335"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/matrix-org/synapse/issues/13288"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/matrix-org/synapse/pull/13823"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/matrix-org/synapse"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/pypa/advisory-database/tree/main/vulns/matrix-synapse/PYSEC-2023-65.yaml"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/T2MBNMZAFY4RCZL2VGBGAPKGB4JUPZVS"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-200", "CWE-862" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2023-05-24T17:20:43Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2023-05-26T14:15:09Z"
  }
}