Actively exploited vulnerability

QNAP Photo Station: file access flaw under attack

CVE-2019-7194 · QNAP Photo Station Path Traversal Vulnerability

Home network device9.8 criticalUsed in ransomware attacks

What is affected

QNAP Photo Station is the kind of equipment many homes and small offices run for years without touching: a router, camera or storage box. Attackers scan the internet for exposed units, and a hijacked one can spy on traffic or be enrolled in a botnet without any visible sign.

QNAP devices running Photo Station contain an external control of file name or path vulnerability allowing remote attackers to access or modify system files.

CISA's description

What an attacker can do

This is a file access flaw. It lets an attacker read or write files they should never reach, such as configuration files that hold passwords, or upload a malicious file that the system then runs.

How it is reached
Over the internet or network
Access the attacker needs
No account needed
Does the victim have to do something?
No, works without the victim doing anything

CISA records this vulnerability as known to be used in ransomware campaigns: attackers use it to get in, then encrypt files and demand payment.

What to do

  1. Check whether you own this device: look at the label on your router, camera or NAS, or open its admin page and note the model and firmware version.
  2. Install the latest firmware from the manufacturer's support page or the device's own update menu.
  3. If the manufacturer no longer releases updates for the model, replace it. An end-of-life device with an exploited flaw cannot be made safe.
  4. Turn off remote administration from the internet unless you truly need it, and change the default admin password.

Apply updates per vendor instructions.

Action required by CISA for US federal agencies

How urgent is it

CISA added this vulnerability to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalogue on June 8, 2022, which means there is reliable evidence of attacks in the wild. US federal agencies must fix it by June 22, 2022, a deadline that has already passed. That deadline does not bind anyone else, but it shows how seriously the agency rates it.

The EPSS model estimates a 83% probability that this flaw will be exploited somewhere in the next 30 days. That is higher than 99.7% of all scored vulnerabilities.

Its CVSS severity score is 9.8 out of 10 (critical), as recorded in the US National Vulnerability Database.

Technical description

This external control of file name or path vulnerability allows remote attackers to access or modify system files. To fix the vulnerability, QNAP recommend updating Photo Station to their latest versions.

NIST National Vulnerability Database
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