CVE-2022-39374: Matrix synapse Denial of Service Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-p9qp-c452-f9r7
CVSS 6.5
CWE-400
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2022-39374 is a HIGH (CVSS 6.5) denial of service vulnerability (CWE-400: Uncontrolled Resource Consumption) affecting Matrix synapse libraries in the PyPI ecosystem. The issue involves synapse denial of service due to incorrect application of event authorization rules during state resolution. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 1.68.0rc1.

CVE-2022-39374 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2022-39374
GHSA Identifier GHSA-p9qp-c452-f9r7
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 6.5
CWE Classification CWE-400: Uncontrolled Resource Consumption
Affected Product Matrix synapse
Package Ecosystem PyPI
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 6.5

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:N/I:N/A:H).

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 None (C:N)
Integrity None (I:N)
Availability High (A:H)

How to Fix CVE-2022-39374

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: 1.68.0rc1
pip install matrix-synapse>=1.68.0rc1
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-2022-39374, 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 1.68.0rc1), 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-400: Uncontrolled Resource Consumption, where the product does not properly control the allocation and maintenance of a limited resource. 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 If Synapse and a malicious homeserver are both joined to the same room, the malicious homeserver can trick Synapse into accepting previously rejected events into its view of the current state of that room. This can be exploited in a way that causes all further messages and state changes sent in that room from the vulnerable homeserver to be rejected. Synapse homeservers are affected by this issue if and only if they are joined to rooms which members of untrusted homeservers are joined or invited to. - Synapse homeservers in rooms available over public federation **are** affected. - Synapse homeservers with federation disabled are not affected. - Synapse homeservers in a closed federation containing only trusted servers are not affected. - Synapse homeservers which are only joined to rooms with federation disabled[^1] are not affected. ### Patches Administrators of homeservers with federation enabled are advised to upgrade to 1.68.0 or higher. ### Workarounds * Federation can be disabled by setting [`federation_domain_whitelist`](https://matrix-org.github.io/synapse/latest/usage/configuration/config_documentation.html#federation_domain_whitelist) to an empty list (`[]`). from the vulnerable homeserver to be rejected. This issue has been patched in version 1.68.0 ### References - https://github.com/matrix-org/synapse/pull/13723 [^1]: See `m.federate` in the [`m.room.create` definition](https://spec.matrix.org/v1.4/client-server-api/#mroomcreate). ### 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-2022-39374 Affected Matrix synapse Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
1.68.0rc1
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
matrix-synapse
PyPI
≥ 1.62.0
< 1.68.0rc1
1.68.0rc1

References

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2022-39374?
CVE-2022-39374 is a security vulnerability in Matrix synapse involving Synapse Denial of service due to incorrect application of event authorization rules during state resolution under CWE-400: Uncontrolled Resource Consumption.
Which Matrix synapse versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 1.68.0rc1 across affected packages: matrix-synapse.
What version fixes CVE-2022-39374?
Upgrading to 1.68.0rc1 (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 1.68.0rc1. Upgrade your dependency to 1.68.0rc1 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2022-39374?
CVE-2022-39374 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 6.5 (HIGH) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2022-39374?
CVE-2022-39374 is classified under CWE-400: Uncontrolled Resource Consumption (The product does not properly control the allocation and maintenance of a limited resource.).
How can I check PyPI dependencies for CVE-2022-39374?
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-p9qp-c452-f9r7",
  "modified" : "2024-09-30T20:25:22Z",
  "published" : "2023-05-24T17:21:33Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2022-39374" ],
  "summary" : "Synapse Denial of service due to incorrect application of event authorization rules during state resolution",
  "details" : "### Impact\nIf Synapse and a malicious homeserver are both joined to the same room, the malicious homeserver can trick Synapse into accepting previously rejected events into its view of the current state of that room. This can be exploited in a way that causes all further messages and state changes sent in that room from the vulnerable homeserver to be rejected.\n\nSynapse homeservers are affected by this issue if and only if they are joined to rooms which members of untrusted homeservers are joined or invited to. \n\n- Synapse homeservers in rooms available over public federation **are** affected.\n- Synapse homeservers with federation disabled are not affected.\n- Synapse homeservers in a closed federation containing only trusted servers are not affected.\n- Synapse homeservers which are only joined to rooms with federation disabled[^1] are not affected.\n\n### Patches\nAdministrators of homeservers with federation enabled are advised to upgrade to 1.68.0 or higher.\n\n### Workarounds\n * Federation can be disabled by setting [`federation_domain_whitelist`](https://matrix-org.github.io/synapse/latest/usage/configuration/config_documentation.html#federation_domain_whitelist) to an empty list (`[]`). from the vulnerable homeserver to be rejected. This issue has been patched in version 1.68.0\n\n### References\n- https://github.com/matrix-org/synapse/pull/13723\n\n[^1]: See `m.federate` in the [`m.room.create` definition](https://spec.matrix.org/v1.4/client-server-api/#mroomcreate).\n\n### For more information\n\nIf you have any questions or comments about this advisory, e-mail us at [security@matrix.org](mailto:security@matrix.org).",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H"
  }, {
    "type" : "CVSS_V4",
    "score" : "CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "PyPI",
      "name" : "matrix-synapse"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "1.62.0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "1.68.0rc1"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/matrix-org/synapse/security/advisories/GHSA-p9qp-c452-f9r7"
  }, {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-39374"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/matrix-org/synapse/pull/13723"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/matrix-org/synapse/commit/b73cbb82157d9666e8d667733afebc0d09ed858c"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/matrix-org/synapse"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/pypa/advisory-database/tree/main/vulns/matrix-synapse/PYSEC-2023-66.yaml"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/UJIJRP5ZH6B3KGFLHCAKR2IX2Y4Z25QD"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-400" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2023-05-24T17:21:33Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2023-05-26T14:15:10Z"
  }
}