CVE-2022-21692: Onionshare cli Improper Access Control Vulnerability

MODERATE
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-gjj5-998g-v36v
CVSS 4.3
CWE-287
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2022-21692 is a MODERATE (CVSS 4.3) improper access control vulnerability (CWE-287: Improper Authentication) affecting Onionshare cli libraries in the PyPI ecosystem. The issue involves improper access control in onionshare. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 2.5.

CVE-2022-21692 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2022-21692
GHSA Identifier GHSA-gjj5-998g-v36v
Severity MODERATE
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 4.3
CWE Classification CWE-287: Improper Authentication
Affected Product Onionshare cli
Package Ecosystem PyPI
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 4.3

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:N/A:N).

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 None (I:N)
Availability None (A:N)

How to Fix CVE-2022-21692

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

onionshare-cli fixed: 2.5
pip install onionshare-cli>=2.5
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 onionshare-cli

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Python environment is affected by CVE-2022-21692, inspect your installed packages using pip:

pip show onionshare-cli

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Onionshare cli in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 2.5), your application is affected.

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

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-287: Improper Authentication, where when an actor claims to have a given identity, the product does not prove or insufficiently proves that the claim is correct. In Onionshare cli, 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

Between September 26, 2021 and October 8, 2021, [Radically Open Security](https://www.radicallyopensecurity.com/) conducted a penetration test of OnionShare 2.4, funded by the Open Technology Fund's [Red Team lab](https://www.opentech.fund/labs/red-team-lab/). This is an issue from that penetration test. - Vulnerability ID: OTF-003 - Vulnerability type: Improper Access Control - Threat level: Moderate ## Description: Anyone with access to the chat environment can write messages disguised as another chat participant. ## Technical description: Prerequisites: - Alice and Bob are legitimate users - A third user has access to the chat environment ![otf-003-a](https://user-images.githubusercontent.com/156128/140665707-1ecc897e-d33b-4f5b-b585-eb4475c1599f.png) This screenshot shows Alice (`glimpse-depress`) and Bob (`blinker-doorpost`) joined a chatroom and are the only participants in the chatroom. Then the non-listed user squad-nursing writes a message in the chatroom without being visible in the list of users. The sending of the message itself is not required but was done here to show the initial access. The non-listed participant now renames himself to Bob and writes another message, seemingly coming from Bob. This can be reproduced by slightly modifying the client-side JavaScript. The `joined` emit needs to be removed from the `socket.on(connect) `event handler. Therefore a client is not listed in the userlist and has no active session. https://github.com/onionshare/onionshare/blob/d08d5f0f32f755f504494d80794886f346fbafdb/cli/onionshare_cli/resources/static/js/chat.js#L16-L18 This can be done either via a crafted client or runtime modification of the `chat.js` script in the browser's internal debugger. It is still possible to call the text method and send text to the chat via websocket. https://github.com/onionshare/onionshare/blob/d08d5f0f32f755f504494d80794886f346fbafdb/cli/onionshare_cli/web/chat_mode.py#L131-L139 It is also possible to call the `update_username` function and choose an existing username from the chat. https://github.com/onionshare/onionshare/blob/d08d5f0f32f755f504494d80794886f346fbafdb/cli/onionshare_cli/web/chat_mode.py#L141-L162 Afterwards the hidden user can send messages that are displayed as coming from the impersonated user. There is no way to distinguish between the fake and original message. ## Impact: An adversary with access to the chat environment can impersonate existing chat participants and write messages but not read the conversation. The similar exploit described in OTF-004 (page 19) has only slightly more requirements but also allows for reading. ## Recommendation: - Implement proper session handling

CVE-2022-21692 Affected Onionshare cli Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
2.5
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
onionshare-cli
PyPI
≥ 2.3
< 2.5
2.5

References

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2022-21692?
CVE-2022-21692 is a security vulnerability in Onionshare cli involving Improper Access Control in Onionshare under CWE-287: Improper Authentication.
Which Onionshare cli versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 2.5 across affected packages: onionshare-cli.
What version fixes CVE-2022-21692?
Upgrading to 2.5 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is onionshare-cli affected?
Yes, onionshare-cli is affected in releases prior to 2.5. Upgrade your dependency to 2.5 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2022-21692?
CVE-2022-21692 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 4.3 (MODERATE) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2022-21692?
CVE-2022-21692 is classified under CWE-287: Improper Authentication (When an actor claims to have a given identity, the product does not prove or insufficiently proves that the claim is correct.).
How can I check PyPI dependencies for CVE-2022-21692?
Run the dependency tree command: 'pip show onionshare-cli'. 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-gjj5-998g-v36v",
  "modified" : "2024-10-07T21:20:07Z",
  "published" : "2022-01-21T23:20:21Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2022-21692" ],
  "summary" : "Improper Access Control in Onionshare",
  "details" : "Between September 26, 2021 and October 8, 2021, [Radically Open Security](https://www.radicallyopensecurity.com/) conducted a penetration test of OnionShare 2.4, funded by the Open Technology Fund's [Red Team lab](https://www.opentech.fund/labs/red-team-lab/). This is an issue from that penetration test.\n\n- Vulnerability ID: OTF-003\n- Vulnerability type: Improper Access Control\n- Threat level: Moderate\n\n## Description:\n\nAnyone with access to the chat environment can write messages disguised as another chat participant.\n\n## Technical description:\n\nPrerequisites:\n\n- Alice and Bob are legitimate users\n- A third user has access to the chat environment\n\n![otf-003-a](https://user-images.githubusercontent.com/156128/140665707-1ecc897e-d33b-4f5b-b585-eb4475c1599f.png)\n\nThis screenshot shows Alice (`glimpse-depress`) and Bob (`blinker-doorpost`) joined a chatroom and are the only participants in the chatroom. Then the non-listed user squad-nursing writes a message in the chatroom without being visible in the list of users. The sending of the message itself is not required but was done here to show the initial access. The non-listed participant now renames himself to Bob and writes another message, seemingly coming from Bob.\n\nThis can be reproduced by slightly modifying the client-side JavaScript. The `joined` emit needs to be removed from the `socket.on(connect) `event handler. Therefore a client is not listed in the userlist and has no active session.\n\nhttps://github.com/onionshare/onionshare/blob/d08d5f0f32f755f504494d80794886f346fbafdb/cli/onionshare_cli/resources/static/js/chat.js#L16-L18\n\nThis can be done either via a crafted client or runtime modification of the `chat.js` script in the browser's internal debugger.\n\nIt is still possible to call the text method and send text to the chat via websocket.\n\nhttps://github.com/onionshare/onionshare/blob/d08d5f0f32f755f504494d80794886f346fbafdb/cli/onionshare_cli/web/chat_mode.py#L131-L139\n\nIt is also possible to call the `update_username` function and choose an existing username from the chat.\n\nhttps://github.com/onionshare/onionshare/blob/d08d5f0f32f755f504494d80794886f346fbafdb/cli/onionshare_cli/web/chat_mode.py#L141-L162\n\nAfterwards the hidden user can send messages that are displayed as coming from the impersonated user. There is no way to distinguish between the fake and original message.\n\n## Impact:\n\nAn adversary with access to the chat environment can impersonate existing chat participants and write messages but not read the conversation. The similar exploit described in OTF-004 (page 19) has only slightly more requirements but also allows for reading.\n\n## Recommendation:\n\n- Implement proper session handling",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N"
  }, {
    "type" : "CVSS_V4",
    "score" : "CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:L/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "PyPI",
      "name" : "onionshare-cli"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "2.3"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "2.5"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/onionshare/onionshare/security/advisories/GHSA-gjj5-998g-v36v"
  }, {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-21692"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/onionshare/onionshare"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/onionshare/onionshare/releases/tag/v2.5"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/pypa/advisory-database/tree/main/vulns/onionshare-cli/PYSEC-2022-43.yaml"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-287" ],
    "severity" : "MODERATE",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2022-01-19T19:20:26Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2022-01-18T23:15:00Z"
  }
}