What is CVE-2022-50237?

CVE-2022-50237 is a medium-severity security vulnerability in ed25519-dalek (rust), affecting versions < 2.0.0. It is fixed in 2.0.0.

How severe is CVE-2022-50237?

CVE-2022-50237 has a CVSS score of 5.9 (Medium). 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.

Which versions of ed25519-dalek are affected by CVE-2022-50237?

ed25519-dalek (rust) versions < 2.0.0 is affected.

Is there a fix for CVE-2022-50237?

Yes. CVE-2022-50237 is fixed in 2.0.0. Upgrade to this version or later.

Is CVE-2022-50237 exploitable, and should I be worried?

Whether CVE-2022-50237 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.

What actually determines whether CVE-2022-50237 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.

CVE-2022-50237 in ed25519-dalek

Q: How severe is CVE-2022-50237?

CVE-2022-50237 has a CVSS score of 5.9 (Medium). 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.

Q: Which versions of ed25519-dalek are affected by CVE-2022-50237?

ed25519-dalek (rust) versions < 2.0.0 is affected.

Q: Is there a fix for CVE-2022-50237?

Yes. CVE-2022-50237 is fixed in 2.0.0. Upgrade to this version or later.

Q: Is CVE-2022-50237 exploitable, and should I be worried?

Whether CVE-2022-50237 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.

Q: What actually determines whether CVE-2022-50237 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.

Q: How do I fix CVE-2022-50237?

Upgrade ed25519-dalek to 2.0.0 or later.

Summary

ed25519-dalek Double Public Key Signing Function Oracle Attack

Versions of ed25519-dalek prior to v2.0 model private and public keys as separate types which can be assembled into a Keypair, and also provide APIs for serializing and deserializing 64-byte private/public keypairs.

Such APIs and serializations are inherently unsafe as the public key is one of the inputs used in the deterministic computation of the S part of the signature, but not in the R value. An adversary could somehow use the signing function as an oracle that allows arbitrary public keys as input can obtain two signatures for the same message sharing the same R and only differ on the S part.

Unfortunately, when this happens, one can easily extract the private key.

Revised public APIs in v2.0 of ed25519-dalek do NOT allow a decoupled private/public keypair as signing input, except as part of specially labeled "hazmat" APIs which are clearly labeled as being dangerous if misused.

Impact

CVE-2022-50237 has a CVSS score of 5.9 (Medium). The vector is requires local access, 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 (2.0.0); upgrading removes the vulnerable code path.

Affected versions

ed25519-dalek (< 2.0.0)

Security releases

ed25519-dalek → 2.0.0 (rust)

Kodem intelligence

Severity tells you how bad this could be in the worst case. It does not tell you whether you are exposed. Exploitability and impact are functions of runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A vulnerable package can sit in your dependency tree and never run.

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. Kodem's runtime-powered SCA identifies whether this CVE is reachable in your applications.

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Remediation advice

Upgrade ed25519-dalek to 2.0.0 or later to resolve this vulnerability.

Kodem Kai can prioritize this vulnerability in your dependency tree and generate a fix recommendation.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2022-50237? CVE-2022-50237 is a medium-severity security vulnerability in ed25519-dalek (rust), affecting versions < 2.0.0. It is fixed in 2.0.0.
How severe is CVE-2022-50237? CVE-2022-50237 has a CVSS score of 5.9 (Medium). 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.
Which versions of ed25519-dalek are affected by CVE-2022-50237? ed25519-dalek (rust) versions < 2.0.0 is affected.
Is there a fix for CVE-2022-50237? Yes. CVE-2022-50237 is fixed in 2.0.0. Upgrade to this version or later.
Is CVE-2022-50237 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2022-50237 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
What actually determines whether CVE-2022-50237 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.
How do I fix CVE-2022-50237? Upgrade ed25519-dalek to 2.0.0 or later.