CVE-2022-32089 in MariaDB
Summary
by MITRE • 07/02/2022
MariaDB v10.5 to v10.7 was discovered to contain a segmentation fault via the component st_select_lex_unit::exclude_level.
If you want to get best quality of vulnerability data, you may have to visit VulDB.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/04/2026
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2022-32089 represents a critical segmentation fault within MariaDB database management system affecting versions 10.5 through 10.7. This issue manifests within the st_select_lex_unit::exclude_level component, which is part of the query processing pipeline responsible for handling complex SQL operations including subqueries and nested selections. The segmentation fault occurs when the database engine encounters specific query patterns that trigger improper memory management during the execution of exclusion operations within query units.
The technical flaw stems from inadequate input validation and memory handling within the query execution engine's lexical analysis phase. When processing certain SQL statements containing nested subqueries or complex exclusion logic, the st_select_lex_unit::exclude_level function fails to properly validate memory references or handle edge cases in the exclusion hierarchy. This leads to a null pointer dereference or invalid memory access pattern that causes the database process to crash with a segmentation fault, effectively resulting in a denial of service condition.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability poses significant risks to database availability and system stability. An attacker capable of submitting malicious SQL queries to a vulnerable MariaDB instance could trigger the segmentation fault and cause database processes to terminate unexpectedly. This creates opportunities for denial of service attacks that can disrupt database services and potentially impact applications dependent on the database. The vulnerability is particularly concerning in production environments where database availability is critical for business operations.
The vulnerability aligns with CWE-125: "Out-of-bounds Read" and CWE-476: "NULL Pointer Dereference" categories, reflecting the core memory management issues within the database engine's query processing. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to T1499.004: "Endpoint Denial of Service" and potentially T1566.001: "Phishing via Service" if attackers leverage this weakness to disrupt database services. The issue also relates to T1071.004: "Application Layer Protocol: DNS" in scenarios where database connections are disrupted, though the primary impact is direct service disruption rather than network protocol manipulation.
Mitigation strategies should prioritize immediate patching of affected MariaDB versions to the latest releases containing the fix for this segmentation fault vulnerability. Organizations should implement comprehensive monitoring for abnormal process termination patterns and establish automated alerting for database service disruptions. Network segmentation and access controls should be reinforced to limit exposure of database systems to untrusted inputs. Additionally, implementing query validation mechanisms and restricting complex subquery operations can help reduce the attack surface. Regular security assessments and penetration testing should include database engine vulnerability scanning to identify similar memory management issues that could lead to similar denial of service conditions.