CVE-2022-39257

Matrix iOS SDK vulnerable to impersonation via forwarded Megolm sessions

HIGH
7.5
CVSS Score
Published: September 28, 2022 at 08:55 PM UTC
Updated: June 17, 2026 at 04:58 AM UTC
2 products affected across 2 vendorsSoftware Development KitSoftware Development Kit

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Severity
HIGH7.5
Exploit prediction
EPSS 1.0%
SSVC
No known exploit

Description

Matrix iOS SDK allows developers to build iOS apps compatible with Matrix. Prior to version 0.23.19, an attacker cooperating with a malicious homeserver can construct messages appearing to have come from another person. Such messages will be marked with a grey shield on some platforms, but this may be missing in others. This attack is possible due to the matrix-ios-sdk implementing a too permissive key forwarding strategy. The default policy for accepting key forwards has been made more strict in the matrix-ios-sdk version 0.23.19. matrix-ios-sdk will now only accept forwarded keys in response to previously issued requests and only from own, verified devices. The SDK now sets a `trusted` flag on the decrypted message upon decryption, based on whether the key used to decrypt the message was received from a trusted source. Clients need to ensure that messages decrypted with a key with `trusted = false` are decorated appropriately (for example, by showing a warning for such messages). This attack requires coordination between a malicious home server and an attacker, so those who trust their home servers do not need a workaround.

Affected

Our own answer: ranges merged, affected separated from platform-only, with confidence and review flags.

v < 0.23.19
Affected range stops below 0.23.19, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement
v < 0.23.19
Affected range stops below 0.23.19, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement

Remediation

No guide yet

No remediation guidance has been written for this CVE yet. What the record does show:

SSVC — Action Prioritization

SSVCNo known exploitAutomatablePartial impact

SSVC signals action urgency (what to patch first), separate from CVSS which measures severity.

CVSS

7.5HIGHGitHub_M
Attack Vector
NETWORK
Complexity
LOW
Privileges
NONE
User Interaction
NONE
Scope
UNCHANGED
Confidentiality
NONE
Integrity
HIGH
Availability
NONE
Vector?

Quick Info

StatusMODIFIED
CWE
CWE-287CWE-322

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