CVE-2022-31198

OpenZeppelin Contracts's GovernorVotesQuorumFraction updates to quorum may affect past defeated proposals

Workarounds

Avoid lowering quorum requirements if a past proposal was defeated for lack of quorum.

References

https://github.com/OpenZeppelin/openzeppelin-contracts/pull/3561

For more information

If you have any questions or comments about this advisory, or need assistance deploying the fix, email us at [email protected].

This issue concerns instances of Governor that use the module GovernorVotesQuorumFraction, a mechanism that determines quorum requirements as a percentage of the voting token's total supply. In affected instances, when a proposal is passed to lower the quorum requirement, past proposals may become executable if they had been defeated only due to lack of quorum, and the number of votes it received meets the new quorum requirement.

Analysis of instances on chain found only one proposal that met this condition, and we are actively monitoring for new occurrences of this particular issue.

CVE-2022-31198 has a CVSS score of 7.5 (High). The vector is network-reachable, no 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 (4.7.2); upgrading removes the vulnerable code path.

Kodem intelligence

Already deployed Kodem?

This issue has been patched in v4.7.2.

1. What is CVE-2022-31198? CVE-2022-31198 is a high-severity security vulnerability in @openzeppelin/contracts (npm), affecting versions >= 4.3.0, < 4.7.2. It is fixed in 4.7.2.
2. How severe is CVE-2022-31198? CVE-2022-31198 has a CVSS score of 7.5 (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 packages are affected by CVE-2022-31198?
   • @openzeppelin/contracts (npm) (versions >= 4.3.0, < 4.7.2)
   • @openzeppelin/contracts-upgradeable (npm) (versions >= 4.3.0, < 4.7.2)
4. Is there a fix for CVE-2022-31198? Yes. CVE-2022-31198 is fixed in 4.7.2. Upgrade to this version or later.
5. Is CVE-2022-31198 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2022-31198 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-2022-31198 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-2022-31198?
   • Upgrade @openzeppelin/contracts to 4.7.2 or later
   • Upgrade @openzeppelin/contracts-upgradeable to 4.7.2 or later

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