CVE-2022-39248: Matrix android sdk2 Matrix-android-sdk2 Vulnerable To Olm/Megolm Protocol Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-fpgf-pjjv-2qgm
CVSS 8.6
CWE-322 CWE-287
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2022-39248 is a HIGH (CVSS 8.6) matrix-android-sdk2 vulnerable to olm/megolm protocol vulnerability (CWE-322: Key Exchange without Entity Authentication) affecting Matrix android sdk2 libraries in the Maven ecosystem. The issue involves matrix-android-sdk2 vulnerable to olm/megolm protocol confusion. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 1.5.1.

CVE-2022-39248 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2022-39248
GHSA Identifier GHSA-fpgf-pjjv-2qgm
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 8.6
CWE Classification CWE-322: Key Exchange without Entity Authentication
Affected Product Matrix android sdk2
Package Ecosystem Maven
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 8.6

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

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

How to Fix CVE-2022-39248

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Matrix android sdk2 dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.

org.matrix.android:matrix-android-sdk2 fixed: 1.5.1
<dependency>
    <groupId>org.matrix.android</groupId>
    <artifactId>matrix-android-sdk2</artifactId>
    <version>1.5.1</version>
</dependency>
Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

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

mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.matrix.android

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Java application is affected by CVE-2022-39248, inspect your build dependencies using the Maven Dependency Plugin:

mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.matrix.android

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Matrix android sdk2 in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 1.5.1), your application is affected.

Note: The mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.matrix.android command inspects the resolved dependency graph declared in your project's POM files; it does not perform automated security scanning or inspect runtime dynamic classpaths. Always verify runtime container classpaths and shaded JARs.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-322: Key Exchange without Entity Authentication, where the product performs a key exchange with an actor without verifying the identity of that actor. In Matrix android sdk2, 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 An attacker cooperating with a malicious homeserver can construct messages that legitimately appear to have come from another person, without any indication such as a grey shield. Additionally, a sophisticated attacker cooperating with a malicious homeserver could employ this vulnerability to perform a targeted attack in order to send fake to-device messages appearing to originate from another user. This can allow, for example, to inject the key backup secret during a self-verification, to make a targeted device start using a malicious key backup spoofed by the homeserver. matrix-android-sdk2 would then additionally sign such a key backup with its device key, spilling trust over to other devices trusting the matrix-android-sdk2 device. These attacks are possible due to a protocol confusion vulnerability that accepts to-device messages encrypted with Megolm instead of Olm. ### Patches matrix-android-sdk2 has been modified to only accept Olm-encrypted to-device messages and to stop signing backups on a successful decryption. Out of caution, several other checks have been audited or added: - Cleartext `m.room_key`, `m.forwarded_room_key` and `m.secret.send` to_device messages are discarded. - Secrets received from untrusted devices are discarded. - Key backups are only usable if they have a valid signature from a trusted device (no more local trust, or trust-on-decrypt). - The origin of a to-device message should only be determined by observing the Olm session which managed to decrypt the message, and not by using claimed sender_key, user_id, or any other fields controllable by the homeserver. ### Workarounds As this attack requires coordination between a malicious home server and an attacker, if you trust your home server no particular workaround is needed. Notice that the backup spoofing attack is a particularly sophisticated targeted attack. We are not aware of this attack being used in the wild, though specifying a false positive-free way of noticing malicious key backups key is challenging. As an abundance of caution, to avoid malicious backup attacks, you should not verify your new logins using emoji/QR verifications methods until patched. Prefer using verify with passphrase. ### References Blog post: https://matrix.org/blog/2022/09/28/upgrade-now-to-address-encryption-vulns-in-matrix-sdks-and-clients ### For more information If you have any questions or comments about this advisory, e-mail us at [security@matrix.org](mailto:security@matrix.org).

CVE-2022-39248 Affected Matrix android sdk2 Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
1.5.1
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
org.matrix.android:matrix-android-sdk2
Maven
< 1.5.1
1.5.1

References

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2022-39248?
CVE-2022-39248 is a security vulnerability in Matrix android sdk2 involving matrix-android-sdk2 vulnerable to Olm/Megolm protocol confusion under CWE-322: Key Exchange without Entity Authentication.
Which Matrix android sdk2 versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 1.5.1 across affected packages: org.matrix.android:matrix-android-sdk2.
What version fixes CVE-2022-39248?
Upgrading to 1.5.1 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is matrix-android-sdk2 affected?
Yes, org.matrix.android:matrix-android-sdk2 is affected in releases prior to 1.5.1. Upgrade your dependency to 1.5.1 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2022-39248?
CVE-2022-39248 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 8.6 (HIGH) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:H/A:N.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2022-39248?
CVE-2022-39248 is classified under CWE-322: Key Exchange without Entity Authentication (The product performs a key exchange with an actor without verifying the identity of that actor.).
How can I check Maven dependencies for CVE-2022-39248?
Run the dependency tree command: 'mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.matrix.android'. 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-fpgf-pjjv-2qgm",
  "modified" : "2022-09-30T04:37:39Z",
  "published" : "2022-09-30T04:37:39Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2022-39248" ],
  "summary" : "matrix-android-sdk2 vulnerable to Olm/Megolm protocol confusion",
  "details" : "### Impact\nAn attacker cooperating with a malicious homeserver can construct messages that legitimately appear to have come from another person, without any indication such as a grey shield. \n\nAdditionally, a sophisticated attacker cooperating with a malicious homeserver could employ this vulnerability to perform a targeted attack in order to send fake to-device messages appearing to originate from another user. This can allow, for example, to inject the key backup secret during a self-verification, to make a targeted device start using a malicious key backup spoofed by the homeserver. matrix-android-sdk2 would then additionally sign such a key backup with its device key, spilling trust over to other devices trusting the matrix-android-sdk2 device.\n\nThese attacks are possible due to a protocol confusion vulnerability that accepts to-device messages encrypted with Megolm instead of Olm.\n\n### Patches\n\nmatrix-android-sdk2 has been modified to only accept Olm-encrypted to-device messages and to stop signing backups on a successful decryption.\n\nOut of caution, several other checks have been audited or added:\n- Cleartext `m.room_key`, `m.forwarded_room_key` and `m.secret.send` to_device messages are discarded.\n- Secrets received from untrusted devices are discarded.\n- Key backups are only usable if they have a valid signature from a trusted device (no more local trust, or trust-on-decrypt).\n- The origin of a to-device message should only be determined by observing the Olm session which managed to decrypt the message, and not by using claimed sender_key, user_id, or any other fields controllable by the homeserver.\n\n\n### Workarounds\n\nAs this attack requires coordination between a malicious home server and an attacker, if you trust your home server no particular workaround is needed.  Notice that the backup spoofing attack is a particularly sophisticated targeted attack.\n\nWe are not aware of this attack being used in the wild, though specifying a false positive-free way of noticing malicious key backups key is challenging.\n\nAs an abundance of caution, to avoid malicious backup attacks, you should not verify your new logins using emoji/QR verifications methods until patched. Prefer using verify with passphrase.\n\n\n### References\nBlog post: https://matrix.org/blog/2022/09/28/upgrade-now-to-address-encryption-vulns-in-matrix-sdks-and-clients\n\n### For more information\nIf you have any questions or comments about this advisory, e-mail us at [security@matrix.org](mailto:security@matrix.org).\n",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:H/A:N"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Maven",
      "name" : "org.matrix.android:matrix-android-sdk2"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "1.5.1"
      } ]
    } ],
    "database_specific" : {
      "last_known_affected_version_range" : "<= 1.4.36"
    }
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/matrix-org/matrix-android-sdk2/security/advisories/GHSA-fpgf-pjjv-2qgm"
  }, {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-39248"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/matrix-org/matrix-android-sdk2/commit/77df720a238d17308deab83ecaa37f7a4740a17e"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/matrix-org/matrix-android-sdk2"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/matrix-org/matrix-android-sdk2/releases/tag/v1.5.1"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://matrix.org/blog/2022/09/28/upgrade-now-to-address-encryption-vulns-in-matrix-sdks-and-clients"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-287", "CWE-322" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2022-09-30T04:37:39Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2022-09-28T20:15:00Z"
  }
}