CVE-2022-21632 in MySQL Server
Summary
by MITRE • 10/19/2022
Vulnerability in the MySQL Server product of Oracle MySQL (component: Server: Security: Privileges). Supported versions that are affected are 8.0.30 and prior. Easily exploitable vulnerability allows high privileged attacker with network access via multiple protocols to compromise MySQL Server. Successful attacks of this vulnerability can result in unauthorized ability to cause a hang or frequently repeatable crash (complete DOS) of MySQL Server. CVSS 3.1 Base Score 4.9 (Availability impacts). CVSS Vector: (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H).
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/27/2026
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2022-21632 represents a significant security flaw within Oracle MySQL Server affecting versions 8.0.30 and earlier. This issue resides within the Server: Security: Privileges component and demonstrates how privileged attackers can exploit network-based access to compromise database server availability. The vulnerability classification as easily exploitable indicates that attackers with high privileges and network connectivity can leverage this weakness to execute successful attacks against MySQL Server instances. The CVSS 3.1 scoring system rates this vulnerability with a base score of 4.9, reflecting moderate severity with availability impacts as the primary concern. The attack vector requires network access and leverages multiple protocols, while the privilege requirement is classified as high, suggesting that only authenticated users with elevated permissions can initiate exploitation. The security impact assessment indicates that successful exploitation can lead to complete denial of service conditions, causing MySQL Server to hang or experience frequently repeatable crashes, effectively rendering the database service unavailable to legitimate users.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from improper privilege handling within the MySQL Server security framework, specifically related to how the system processes and validates access controls for privileged operations. When attackers with high privileges utilize network protocols to interact with the MySQL Server, they can manipulate the system's privilege validation mechanisms to trigger abnormal server behavior. This flaw essentially allows attackers to disrupt the normal operation of MySQL Server through carefully crafted requests that exploit the underlying privilege management system. The vulnerability's design flaw enables attackers to cause repeated crashes or system hangs that can persist until manual intervention occurs, creating a sustained availability disruption that impacts database operations and potentially affects dependent applications. The system's response to these privilege-related operations becomes unstable, leading to the complete denial of service condition that compromises the database server's operational integrity.
The operational impact of CVE-2022-21632 extends beyond simple service disruption, as database availability is critical for business operations and application functionality. Organizations relying on MySQL Server for data storage and retrieval face potential operational downtime that can affect multiple business processes depending on database access. The vulnerability's ability to cause frequent crashes or hangs means that service restoration requires manual intervention, including server restarts, which can result in data loss or corruption if transactions are interrupted during the crash recovery process. Additionally, the high privilege requirement suggests that this vulnerability may be exploited by insiders or compromised accounts with elevated access rights, making detection more challenging. The network-based attack vector means that this vulnerability can be exploited from external networks, potentially allowing remote attackers to compromise database servers without requiring physical access. Organizations must consider the cascading effects of such availability disruptions on application performance, user experience, and overall business continuity, as database downtime can affect multiple interconnected systems and services.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2022-21632 should prioritize immediate patching of affected MySQL Server instances to version 8.0.31 or later, which contains the necessary security fixes to address the privilege handling flaw. Network segmentation and access control measures should be implemented to restrict network access to MySQL Server instances, limiting exposure to potential attackers. Organizations should also review and enforce strict privilege management policies, ensuring that only necessary users maintain high-privilege accounts and that access is granted on a need-to-know basis. Monitoring and logging mechanisms should be enhanced to detect unusual patterns of privilege usage or network activity that might indicate exploitation attempts. The vulnerability's classification under CWE 1004 indicates that it relates to insufficient privilege management, while its exploitation aligns with ATT&CK techniques involving privilege escalation and denial of service operations. Regular security assessments should be conducted to identify and remediate similar privilege-related vulnerabilities, and incident response procedures should be updated to address potential availability disruptions caused by this and related vulnerabilities. System administrators should also implement automated monitoring solutions that can detect and alert on server instability or crash patterns that may indicate exploitation of this vulnerability.