CVE-2022-32290: The client in Northern.tech Mender 3.2.0, 3.2.1, and 3.2.2 has Incorrect Access Control.

The client in Northern.tech Mender 3.2.0, 3.2.1, and 3.2.2 has Incorrect Access Control.

The client in Northern.tech Mender 3.2.0, 3.2.1, and 3.2.2 has Incorrect Access Control. It listens on a random, unprivileged TCP port and exposes an HTTP proxy to facilitate API calls from additional client components running on the device. However, it listens on all network interfaces instead of only the localhost interface. Therefore, any client on the same network can connect to this TCP port and send HTTP requests. The Mender Client will forward these requests to the Mender Server. Additionally, if mTLS is set up, the Mender Client will connect to the Mender Server using the device's client certificate, making it possible for the attacker to bypass mTLS authentication and send requests to the Mender Server without direct access to the client certificate and related private key. Accessing the HTTP proxy from the local network doesn't represent a direct threat, because it doesn't expose any device or server-specific data. However, it increases the attack surface and can be a potential vector to exploit other vulnerabilities both on the Client and the Server.

Description from the National Vulnerability Database, published by MITRE

What it means for a small business

If your business uses Mender, install the vendor's update. If you're not sure whether you use it, ask whoever manages your computers.

How likely is an attack? The Exploit Prediction Scoring System, run by FIRST (the global association of security response teams), puts the odds of this one being exploited in the next 30 days at 0.22%, higher than 13% of CVEs. That’s low, but low isn’t zero, and the odds jump the day someone publishes an exploit. Scored October 29, 2026, updated daily.

Check your own setup

Website check: reads what your site runs from the outside (WordPress version, plugins it can see, old server software) and matches it against this database.
Server check: what your web server says about itself, and whether that version has known flaws.

Sources

Part of the Huttenlocher Technologies vulnerability database, refreshed twice a day from CISA and the NVD. The title, category and plain-language guidance are ours; check the linked record before acting on a detail. This is general guidance, not a review of your systems.

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