---
id: CVE-2022-37660
title: >-
  In hostapd 2.10 and earlier, the PKEX code remains active even after a
  successful PKEX association
summary: >-
  In hostapd 2.10 and earlier, the PKEX code remains active even after a
  successful PKEX association. An attacker that successfully bootstrapped public
  keys with another entity using PKEX in the past, will be able to subvert a
  future boots…
severity: medium
cvss: 6.5
cvssVector: 'CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N'
cwe:
  - CWE-323
vendor: w1.fi
product: hostapd
affected:
  - hostapd <= 2.10
published: '2025-02-11'
updated: '2026-07-14'
source: NVD
sourceUrl: 'https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-37660'
references:
  - url: 'https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10207-025-00988-3'
    label: cve@mitre.org
  - url: >-
      https://w1.fi/cgit/hostap/commit/?id=15af83cf1846870873a011ed4d714732f01cd2e4
    label: cve@mitre.org
  - url: 'https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2025/04/msg00019.html'
    label: af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108
  - url: 'https://cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/html/ssa-585531.html'
    label: 0b142b55-0307-4c5a-b3c9-f314f3fb7c5e
tags:
  - nvd
epss: 0.00378
epssPercentile: 0.31673
ingestedAt: '2026-07-14T12:36:48.041Z'
---

## Overview

In hostapd 2.10 and earlier, the PKEX code remains active even after a successful PKEX association. An attacker that successfully bootstrapped public keys with another entity using PKEX in the past, will be able to subvert a future bootstrapping by passively observing public keys, re-using the encrypting element Qi and subtracting it from the captured message M (X = M - Qi). This will result in the public ephemeral key X; the only element required to subvert the PKEX association.

## Affected

- `hostapd <= 2.10`

## Remediation

Refer to the linked advisories for vendor-supplied fixes and affected version ranges.