CVE-2022-36227
libarchive: NULL pointer dereference in archive_write.c
Severity
LowRed Hat Product Security
CVSS 3.1
Review impact separately from score.
Published · July 11, 2022
Updated · March 20, 2026
Description
A flaw was found in libarchive. A missing check of the return value of the calloc function can cause a NULL pointer dereference in an out-of-memory condition or when a memory allocation limit is reached, resulting in the program linked with libarchive to crash.
Statement
This vulnerability can only be exploited in an out-of-memory condition or when a memory allocation limit is reached. Additionally, the only known security impact of this issue is a denial of service. Due to these conditions, this flaw was rated as having a low severity. The out-of-memory condition is triggered when all physical memory, including swap space, is being used. Furthermore, depending on the configuration, this event can cause the out-of-memory killer (OOM-Killer) to be activated, terminating the application and preventing the NULL pointer dereference from being exploited.
CVSS score applicability
The CVSS score(s) listed for this vulnerability do not reflect the associated product's status, and are included for informational purposes to better understand the severity of this vulnerability.
Mitigation
No mitigation is specified in collected source.
CVSS / CWE
CVSS 3.1 · 5.9CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
CWE-476 · NULL Pointer Dereference