Message impersonation via unverified forwarded room keys
Published Sep 29, 2022 · Updated Apr 23, 2025
Improper authentication in matrix-sdk-crypto before 0.6 allows remote attackers controlling a homeserver to inject untrusted room keys. GossipMachine accepts a forwarded key after matching an outstanding request but fails to verify that the sender key belongs to the recipient's own trusted device. Control of or collusion with the user's homeserver is required, while imported-key marking remains as a reduced-authentication warning that bounds the consequence to message impersonation.
Summary
What happened
Improper authentication in matrix-sdk-crypto before 0.6 allows remote attackers controlling a homeserver to inject untrusted room keys. GossipMachine accepts a forwarded key after matching an outstanding request but fails to verify that the sender key belongs to the recipient's own trusted device. Control of or collusion with the user's homeserver is required, while imported-key marking remains as a reduced-authentication warning that bounds the consequence to message impersonation.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2022-39252
- Published
- Sep 29, 2022
- Updated
- Apr 23, 2025
- Vendor
- The Matrix.org Foundation
- Product
- matrix-rust-sdk
- Classifications
- CWE-287, CWE-322, T1565.002
- Attack vector
- network
- Privileges
- admin
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Sep 29, 2022CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Apr 23, 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?
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- Affected versionversion=< 0.6
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
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.
Weakness, pattern, technique
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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