CVE-2022-41409 in Business Intelligence Enterprise Edition
Summary
by MITRE • 07/18/2023
Integer overflow vulnerability in pcre2test before 10.41 allows attackers to cause a denial of service or other unspecified impacts via negative input.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/23/2025
The CVE-2022-41409 vulnerability represents a critical integer overflow flaw within the pcre2test utility, which is part of the PCRE2 (Perl Compatible Regular Expressions) library. This vulnerability specifically affects versions prior to 10.41 and manifests when the utility processes negative input values, creating a condition where arithmetic operations exceed the maximum representable integer value for the target system architecture. The flaw resides in the input validation mechanisms of pcre2test, which fails to properly handle negative integer values during regular expression processing, leading to unpredictable behavior.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs when an attacker provides negative numeric input to the pcre2test utility, which then processes this input through integer arithmetic operations that ultimately result in overflow conditions. When integer overflow occurs in this context, the system's normal execution flow becomes disrupted, potentially leading to memory corruption or abrupt program termination. The vulnerability's impact extends beyond simple denial of service, as the overflow conditions can create unpredictable program states that may be leveraged for more sophisticated attacks depending on the execution environment and system configuration. This type of vulnerability falls under the CWE-191 Integer Underflow (Wrap or Wraparound) classification, which is categorized under the broader CWE-190 Integer Overflow or Wraparound family of weaknesses.
The operational impact of CVE-2022-41409 presents significant risks for systems that rely on pcre2test for regular expression processing or validation tasks. Organizations using vulnerable versions may experience unexpected service interruptions when processing malicious input, potentially leading to complete system unavailability. The vulnerability can be exploited through various attack vectors including command-line input, file processing, or network-based inputs that flow through applications utilizing the affected library. From an adversary perspective, this vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1499.004 Network Denial of Service, as it enables attackers to disrupt services through resource exhaustion or process termination. The vulnerability's severity is compounded by its potential for remote exploitation, particularly when pcre2test is exposed through network services or web applications that process user-supplied regular expression patterns.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2022-41409 primarily focus on immediate version upgrades to PCRE2 10.41 or later, which contain the necessary patches to address the integer overflow conditions. System administrators should conduct comprehensive inventory assessments to identify all systems running vulnerable versions of pcre2test and implement patch management procedures to ensure timely updates. Additional protective measures include implementing input validation controls that sanitize all regular expression inputs, particularly those derived from untrusted sources, and deploying network segmentation to limit access to systems running pcre2test utilities. Organizations should also consider implementing monitoring solutions that can detect anomalous behavior patterns indicative of exploitation attempts, and establish incident response procedures that address potential denial of service scenarios. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of robust integer handling in security-critical applications and reinforces the necessity of regular security assessments and vulnerability management programs that can identify and remediate similar flaws before they can be exploited in operational environments.