CVE-2022-41716: Unsanitized NUL in environment variables on Windows in syscall and os/exec
Noroxi assessment
Priority: Monitor (action score 30/100)
- The sources we track (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, Metasploit, Nuclei, GitHub) show no public exploit code or exploitation in the wild.
- Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days: 0.85% (FIRST EPSS); higher than 58% of all records.
- Anyone who can reach it over the internet can trigger it. No account or password is required. No user action is required. No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.
- Fixed version: Go standard library os/exec 1.18.8, 1.19.3; Go standard library syscall 1.18.8, 1.19.3.
Low priority for now. Upgrade to Go standard library os/exec 1.18.8, 1.19.3; Go standard library syscall 1.18.8, 1.19.3 or later.
Generated automatically from the record's data: CVSS (NVD and CNA), CISA KEV and SSVC, FIRST EPSS, exploit sources, fixed versions. How we calculate it
Primary sources: NVD · CVE.org · FIRST EPSS
Due to unsanitized NUL values, attackers may be able to maliciously set environment variables on Windows. In syscall.StartProcess and os/exec.Cmd, invalid environment variable values containing NUL values are not properly checked for. A malicious environment variable value can exploit this behavior to set a value for a different environment variable. For example, the environment variable string "A=B\x00C=D" sets the variables "A=B" and "C=D".
- Published
- Nov 2, 2022
- Updated
- Jun 17, 2026
- EPSS
- 0.8% · 58th percentile
- CWE
- CWE-158
Report tools
Action score
30
Monitor
Low priority for now.
- CVSS
- 30 / 40 · 7.5 / 10
- CISA KEV
- 0 / 30 · Not listed
- EPSS
- 0 / 30 · 0.8%
CISA SSVC decision
- Exploitation
- none
- Automatable
- no
- Technical impact
- partial
Vulnrichment: CISA's decision-tree inputs.
Get told when this record changes
- Not in KEV: no record of exploitation in the wild
- No public exploit code on record
- A fix has been released
If any of these changes, we'll tell you in the daily email digest.
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Noroxi analysis
What does it mean in your environment?
The assessment above is generated automatically from the record's data; it doesn't know your environment. Our team verifies on your systems whether this vulnerability is actually exploitable and which mitigation is enough.
We use this product, ask for helpAffected systems
Is your version affected?
Pick the product and type the version you run. It's compared with this record's version ranges in your browser; the version isn't sent anywhere.
Affected versions
NVD version ranges (for catalog products). Add the product to your stack with a version and matching uses these.
- golang gobefore 1.18.8
- golang go1.19.0 and later · before 1.19.3
Versions reported by the vendor
Affected version ranges reported by the assigning authority (Go). Independent of NVD's CPE analysis and usually ahead of it.
Go standard library os/exec
- before 1.18.8affected · semver
- 1.19.0-0 and later · before 1.19.3affected · semver
Go standard library syscall
- before 1.18.8affected · semver
- 1.19.0-0 and later · before 1.19.3affected · semver
Package-level exposure
OSV and GitHub Advisory data: ecosystem, package and range. SBOM matching uses this table.
| Ecosystem | Package | Affected range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian:12 | golang-1.19 | before 1.19.3-1 | 1.19.3-1 |
| Go | stdlib | from 1.19.0-0 · before 1.19.3 | 1.19.3 |
| Go | stdlib | before 1.18.8 | 1.18.8 |
| openSUSE:Leap 15.3 | go1.18 | before 1.18.8-150000.1.37.1 | 1.18.8-150000.1.37.1 |
| openSUSE:Leap 15.3 | go1.19 | before 1.19.3-150000.1.15.1 | 1.19.3-150000.1.15.1 |
| openSUSE:Tumbleweed | go1.18 | before 1.18.8-1.1 | 1.18.8-1.1 |
| openSUSE:Tumbleweed | go1.19 | before 1.19.3-1.1 | 1.19.3-1.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Development Tools 15 SP3 | go1.18 | before 1.18.8-150000.1.37.1 | 1.18.8-150000.1.37.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Development Tools 15 SP3 | go1.19 | before 1.19.3-150000.1.15.1 | 1.19.3-150000.1.15.1 |
Same product
golang: all recordsOther highest-scoring records for the same primary product.
- CVE-2018-7187The "go get" implementation in Go 1.9.4, when the -insecure command-line option is used, does not validate the import path (get/vcs.go only 54Plan
- CVE-2018-16873In Go before 1.10.6 and 1.11.x before 1.11.3, the "go get" command is vulnerable to remote code execution when executed with the -u flag and52Plan
- CVE-2021-38297Go before 1.16.9 and 1.17.x before 1.17.2 has a Buffer Overflow via large arguments in a function invocation from a WASM module, when GOARCH42Plan
Published before and after this one in the same product
- ← EarlierCVE-2022-2880Oct 14, 2022 · Incorrect sanitization of forwarded query parameters in net/http/httputil30Monitor
- ← EarlierCVE-2022-41715Oct 14, 2022 · Memory exhaustion when compiling regular expressions in regexp/syntax31Monitor
- Later →CVE-2022-41720Dec 7, 2022 · Restricted file access on Windows in os and net/http30Monitor
Remediation
Which version to upgrade to
Fix versions compiled from the vendor, package registries and Microsoft. Verify the vendor's note before upgrading.
| Product / package | Fixed version | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Go standard library os/exec | 1.18.8 | Vendor (CNA) |
| Go standard library os/exec | 1.19.3 | Vendor (CNA) |
| Go standard library syscall | 1.18.8 | Vendor (CNA) |
| Go standard library syscall | 1.19.3 | Vendor (CNA) |
| debian:golang-1.19 | 1.19.3-1 · Debian:12 | Package registry (OSV) |
| Go:stdlib | 1.18.8 | Package registry (OSV) |
| Go:stdlib | 1.19.3 | Package registry (OSV) |
| opensuse:go1.18 | 1.18.8-150000.1.37.1 · openSUSE:Leap 15.3 | Package registry (OSV) |
| opensuse:go1.19 | 1.19.3-150000.1.15.1 · openSUSE:Leap 15.3 | Package registry (OSV) |
| suse:go1.18 | 1.18.8-150000.1.37.1 · SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Development Tools 15 SP3 | Package registry (OSV) |
| suse:go1.19 | 1.19.3-150000.1.15.1 · SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Development Tools 15 SP3 | Package registry (OSV) |
Exploit status
No known public exploit
No public exploit has been observed yet. That doesn't mean you're safe, only that the bar is a little higher.
Research context
For pentesters and researchers: attack profile, score disagreement, timeline, patch commits, credits, variant and chain candidates, bug bounty scope. All derived from existing data; no exploit code.
Timeline
From publication to today: proof of concept, Metasploit module, CISA KEV and fix record. Dates are as reported by the sources.
No dated events beyond publication.
FIRST EPSS daily score; only changes of 0.01 or more are recorded (step chart).
Patch and commit links
Commit, PR and diff links among the references. A starting point for patch-diffing and variant hunting; fixes, not exploits.
No commit or PR link among the references.
Credits
All researchersFinders, reporters and analysts named in the CNA record. Click a name for that researcher’s other records.
Variant candidates
Same product, same weakness class, within 18 months. If the patch missed the root cause, the sibling bug is here.
No nightly-computed relations.
Chain candidates
An authentication bypass and a privilege-requiring bug in the same product, published close together: combined they may become an unauthenticated path.
—
Bug bounty scope
No known public program.
Source: bounty-targets-data (public HackerOne, Bugcrowd, Intigriti, YesWeHack listings).
Technical details
Attack conditions
- Anyone who can reach it over the internet can trigger it.
- No account or password is required.
- No user action is required.
- No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.
If successful
- Confidentiality
- none
- Integrity
- high · data or configuration can be modified
- Availability
- none
- Attack vector
- Network
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality impact
- None
- Integrity impact
- High
- Availability impact
- None
Weakness class (CWE)
CWE-158 · Improper Neutralization of Null Byte or NUL CharacterCVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N
nvd-primary
Attack context
MITRE CAPEC attack patterns and ATT&CK techniques for this weakness class (CWE). A starting point for detection rules and threat hunting.
Attack patterns (CAPEC)
ATT&CK techniques
—
Change log
- Fix✗ → ✓
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References
Show all references (4 more)Show less
Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.