Is CVE-2022-21688 actively exploited?

No active exploitation of CVE-2022-21688 has been confirmed so far. Continue monitoring, as exploit status can change.

Can CVE-2022-21688 be exploited remotely?

No. CVE-2022-21688 requires local access to exploit.

What is the CVSS score of CVE-2022-21688?

CVE-2022-21688 has a CVSS score of 5.5 (MEDIUM).

HOME VULNERABILITIESCVE-2022-21688

MEDIUM

CVE-2022-21688

CWE-125Published: January 18, 2022· Updated: Jun 17, 2026

5.5

CVSS v3.1

Official Description

OnionShare is an open source tool that lets you securely and anonymously share files, host websites, and chat with friends using the Tor network. Affected versions of the desktop application were found to be vulnerable to denial of service via an undisclosed vulnerability in the QT image parsing. Roughly 20 bytes lead to 2GB memory consumption and this can be triggered multiple times. To be abused, this vulnerability requires rendering in the history tab, so some user interaction is required. An adversary with knowledge of the Onion service address in public mode or with authentication in private mode can perform a Denial of Service attack, which quickly results in out-of-memory for the server. This requires the desktop application with rendered history, therefore the impact is only elevated. This issue has been patched in version 2.5.

NVD Source

Technical Analysis

CVE-2022-21688 requires local access, meaning attackers must already have a foothold on the target system.

Exploitation does not require any privileges, though user interaction (Required) is needed, which slightly reduces the risk of mass automated attacks.

A successful exploit results in availability disruption (denial of service), with a CVSS base score of 5.5.