CVE-2022-3165Network attack vector

Service hang via malformed extended clipboard length

Published Oct 17, 2022 · Updated May 14, 2025

Integer underflow in the QEMU VNC server 6.1.0 through 7.1.0 allows remote authenticated users to hang the service via ClientCutText. protocol_client_msg accepts an extended clipboard length below its four-byte header, and vnc_client_cut_text_ext passes the underflowed value into an inflate_buffer loop. An attacker must connect to an enabled VNC endpoint and send the malformed message, causing sustained CPU consumption until the service becomes unresponsive.

CVSS severity6.5
Medium
EPSS probability1.24%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Integer underflow in the QEMU VNC server 6.1.0 through 7.1.0 allows remote authenticated users to hang the service via ClientCutText. protocol_client_msg accepts an extended clipboard length below its four-byte header, and vnc_client_cut_text_ext passes the underflowed value into an inflate_buffer loop. An attacker must connect to an enabled VNC endpoint and send the malformed message, causing sustained CPU consumption until the service becomes unresponsive.

The record

CVE
CVE-2022-3165
Published
Oct 17, 2022
Updated
May 14, 2025
Vendor
QEMU Project
Product
QEMU
Classifications
CWE-191, T1499.003
Attack vector
network
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Oct 17, 2022CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. May 14, 2025Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=Affected 6.1.0 and later. Will be fixed in 7.2.0-rc0.

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

QEMU Project · QEMUversion=Affected 6.1.0 and later. Will be fixed in 7.2.0-rc0.

Published CVSS scores

6.5CISA-ADPCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

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No observations available

Sep 9, 2026Sep 15, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 15, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectornetwork
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-191Integer Underflow (Wrap or Wraparound)
T1499.003Application Exhaustion Flood

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

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Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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