Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
This flaw can make affected Varnish Cache servers crash and restart when they process a malformed HTTP/1 response from a backend. The main business risk is service disruption, not data theft. Fixed releases are available for the named affected branches.
Executive priority
Treat as a targeted availability risk for internet-facing or business-critical caching layers. Patch in normal vulnerability cycles, faster where Varnish outages would affect revenue, customer access, or operational resilience.
Technical view
Varnish Cache 7.0.0, 7.0.1, 7.0.2, and 7.1.0 can assert and automatically restart after handling forged HTTP/1 backend responses with a crafted reason phrase in the status line. The CVSS 3.1 score is 6.5, driven by high availability impact.
Likely exposure
Exposure is likely limited to organizations running the listed Varnish Cache versions, especially where backend responses can be forged, influenced, or returned by less-trusted services. The source bundle does not identify other affected products.
Exploitation context
The source bundle and KEV status do not support active exploitation claims. The described attack path involves forged HTTP/1 backend responses and affects availability through server assertion and restart, with no stated confidentiality or integrity impact.
Researcher notes
Evidence is clear on affected upstream versions and fixed releases, but incomplete on real-world exploitation and compensating mitigations. Validate backend trust boundaries and package backports carefully; do not assume unaffected status from package version strings alone.
Mitigation direction
- Upgrade Varnish Cache 7.0.x deployments to 7.0.3 or later.
- Upgrade Varnish Cache 7.1.0 deployments to 7.1.1 or later.
- Apply distribution security updates where Varnish is managed by OS packages.
- Check Varnish and distribution vendor guidance before relying on compensating controls.
Validation and detection
- Inventory Varnish Cache versions and flag 7.0.0, 7.0.1, 7.0.2, and 7.1.0.
- Confirm fixed versions: 7.0.3, 7.1.1, or vendor backported package builds.
- Review Varnish restart and assertion logs for unexplained availability events.
- Check package changelogs or advisories for CVE-2022-38150 coverage.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
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ATT&CK lookup starting points
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CWE-400: Exact CWE lookup
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Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2022-38150 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- Medium
- CVSS
- 6.5 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5
These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.
CVSS vector scores
1 official scoreWe collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H2.83.6Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
6.5MediumVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://varnish-cache.org/security/VSV00009.htmlCVE reference
- FEDORA-2022-1fa6d1ed2fCVE reference · vendor-advisory
- FEDORA-2022-99702d9bddCVE reference · vendor-advisory
- FEDORA-2022-99c5ddb2aeCVE reference · vendor-advisory
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.
Uncontrolled Resource Consumption
Uncontrolled Resource Consumption represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.