CVE-2022-21646

Lookup operations do not take into account wildcards in SpiceDB

Workarounds

Don't make use of wildcards on the right side of intersections or within exclusions.

References

https://github.com/authzed/spicedb/issues/358

For more information

If you have any questions or comments about this advisory:

• Open an issue in SpiceDB
• Ask a question in the SpiceDB Discord

Any user making use of a wildcard relationship under the right hand branch of an exclusion or within an intersection operation will see Lookup/LookupResources return a resource as "accessible" if it is not accessible by virtue of the inclusion of the wildcard in the intersection or the right side of the exclusion.

For example, given schema:

definition user {}

definition resource {
   relation viewer: user
   relation banned: user | user:*
   permission view = viewer - banned
}

If user:* is placed into the banned relation for a particular resource, view should return false for all resources. in v1.3.0, the wildcard is ignored entirely in lookup's dispatch, resulting in the banned wildcard being ignored in the exclusion.

The application does not adequately validate input before processing it, allowing unexpected values to reach sensitive code paths. Typical impact: varies by context: data corruption, logic bypass, or denial of service.

CVE-2022-21646 has a CVSS score of 8.1 (High). The vector is network-reachable, low privileges required, and no user interaction. A CVSS score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether this affects your application depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable in your environment. A fixed version is available (1.4.0); upgrading removes the vulnerable code path.

Kodem intelligence

Already deployed Kodem?

1. What is CVE-2022-21646? CVE-2022-21646 is a high-severity improper input validation vulnerability in github.com/authzed/spicedb (go), affecting versions = 1.3.0. It is fixed in 1.4.0. The application does not adequately validate input before processing it, allowing unexpected values to reach sensitive code paths.
2. How severe is CVE-2022-21646? CVE-2022-21646 has a CVSS score of 8.1 (High). This score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether it represents real risk in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable.
3. Which versions of github.com/authzed/spicedb are affected by CVE-2022-21646? github.com/authzed/spicedb (go) versions = 1.3.0 is affected.
4. Is there a fix for CVE-2022-21646? Yes. CVE-2022-21646 is fixed in 1.4.0. Upgrade to this version or later.
5. Is CVE-2022-21646 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2022-21646 is exploitable in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable. A CVSS score is a worst-case rating; it does not account for your specific deployment, configuration, or usage patterns. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to show which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so you can focus on the ones that represent real risk. Get a demo
6. What actually determines whether CVE-2022-21646 is exploitable, and how bad it is? Exploitability and impact are not fixed properties of a CVE. They depend on runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A high CVSS score on a dependency that never runs is not the same as real risk. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter.
7. How do I fix CVE-2022-21646? Upgrade github.com/authzed/spicedb to 1.4.0 or later.

Other vulnerabilities in github.com/authzed/spicedb