CVE-2022-23131

In the case of instances where the SAML SSO authentication is enabled (non-default), session data can be modified by a malicious actor, because a user login stored in the session was not verified. Malicious unauthenticated actor may exploit this issue to escalate privileges and gain admin access to Zabbix Frontend. To perform the attack, SAML authentication is required to be enabled and the actor has to know the username of Zabbix user (or use the guest account, which is disabled by default).

CVSS: 9.1Criticalscored by the publisher (CNA)
Exploited in the wild: Yes, in CISA KEV since 22 Feb 2022CISA deadline for US federal agencies: 8 Mar 2022unvetted proof-of-concept code on github
EPSS: 95.7%chance of exploitation in the next 30 daystop 0.2% of scored CVEsFIRST score of 11 Nov 2026
Fix: Fixed in >= 5.4.9 and < 5.4.9*per the vendor
Published: 13 Jan 2022analysed here 12 Nov 2026

Do first. Upgrade to a fixed release: >= 5.4.9 and < 5.4.9*.

Summary

Triage

Exploitable: At runtime
Attack vector: network
Weakness: CWE-290 Common Weakness
Can a WAF block it?: No. See why

The summary, impact and action text on this page are written by our AI analysis pipeline, or taken from the NVD description when a CVE was imported from NVD. They are not the vendor's wording: check them against the sources. A longer AI executive summary and technical analysis are generated for signed-in accounts on the Max plan.

Affected products

Product	Affected versions	Vendor says fixed in
Zabbix Frontend	5.4.0 - 5.4.8Vendor says fixed in: >= 5.4.9 and < 5.4.9*	>= 5.4.9 and < 5.4.9*

As published in the CVE Program record. A version outside these ranges is not a statement that it is unaffected — vendors sometimes understate a range, and distribution-backported builds carry upstream numbers that do not reflect what was patched into them.

Products named in our analysis

zabbix:zabbix

Fix and mitigation

WAF and other mitigations

Can a WAF block it? No. The attack involves modifying session data in the web interface after SAML SSO authentication is enabled, which happens over HTTP. The malicious request looks like a normal authenticated session request, so a web application firewall cannot reliably distinguish it from legitimate traffic.

Also consider: patch

Based on an AI reading of the CVE description, and no vendor rule found yet. We check Cloudflare, AWS, Google Cloud Armor and Azure; for Akamai, Imperva, Fastly, F5, ask your vendor.

Remediation steps (AI-written)

Step-by-step remediation is generated for accounts on the Max plan, for CVEs that match a technology in their stack. Add this technology to your stack to see the fix checklist.

Exploitation evidence

CISA KEV catalog: Listed since 22 Feb 2022.
CISA due date: 8 Mar 2022, the remediation deadline for US federal agencies
CISA required action: Apply updates per vendor instructions.
Public exploit code: Unvetted proof-of-concept code on GitHub: 20 GitHub proofs of concept · 1 Nuclei template
CISA SSVC: exploitation active, automatable yes, technical impact totalAssessed by CISA 29 Jan 2025 (SSVC 2.0.3). Exploitation is none, poc (public proof of concept) or active.

Nuclei

Zabbix - SAML SSO Authentication Bypassdetection template, critical

GitHub proofs of concept

and 16 more repositories

Listed so you can judge urgency, not as a recommendation to run anything. GitHub “proofs of concept” are unvetted: some are fake or carry malware. Exploit-DB marks the entries its staff verified.

Timeline

13 Jan 2022Published
18 Feb 2022First proof-of-concept repository on GitHub (unvetted)35 days later
22 Feb 2022Added to CISA KEV (exploited in the wild)4 days later
8 Mar 2022CISA remediation due date (US federal agencies)14 days later
29 Jan 2025CISA SSVC assessment: exploitation active1,059 days (about 3 years) later
21 Oct 2025CVE record last updated265 days (about 9 months) later
12 Nov 2026Analysed by vulneraibility.com387 days (about 1 year) later

CVSS vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N

Metric	Value	What it means
Attack vector	NetworkReachable over the internet or any routable network.	Reachable over the internet or any routable network.
Attack complexity	LowRepeatable attack, no special conditions.	Repeatable attack, no special conditions.
Privileges required	NoneThe attacker needs no prior access.	The attacker needs no prior access.
User interaction	NoneNo victim action needed.	No victim action needed.
Scope	UnchangedImpact stays within the vulnerable component.	Impact stays within the vulnerable component.
Confidentiality	HighTotal data disclosure possible.	Total data disclosure possible.
Integrity	HighComplete modification possible.	Complete modification possible.
Availability	NoneThe service stays up.	The service stays up.

Common questions

Is CVE-2022-23131 being exploited?

Yes. CVE-2022-23131 appears in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, which means exploitation in the wild has been confirmed and reported. Treat it as active rather than theoretical, and patch it ahead of higher-scoring vulnerabilities that carry no exploitation evidence.

How severe is CVE-2022-23131?

CVE-2022-23131 is rated Critical with a CVSS score of 9.1. Severity describes how bad exploitation would be, not how likely it is: pair it with exploitation evidence before deciding what to patch first.

Is there a patch for CVE-2022-23131?

Yes. A fix has been recorded for CVE-2022-23131. The vendor advisory is the authority on the exact fixed version — apply it from there rather than from a summary.

What does CVE-2022-23131 affect?

CVE-2022-23131 affects zabbix:zabbix. Confirm the exact affected versions against the vendor advisory before deciding you are exposed.

Exploitation status reflects CISA's KEV catalog as we last synced it. Check the catalog directly.

References

NVD CVE.org CVE Details Source

2 references in the CVE record, grouped by the tags the record gives them.

Where the data on this page comes from

CVE List (CVE.org): description, affected versions, references; CVE Terms of Use
NVD: CVSS and CPE data
CISA KEV catalog: exploitation, date added, due date
CISA Vulnrichment (ADP): SSVC decision points
FIRST EPSS: exploit probability and percentile
Nuclei templates: detection templates
PoC-in-GitHub: GitHub repositories that claim a proof of concept

Summary, impact and triage tags: written by our AI analysis pipeline from the sources above. Check them against the sources.

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