Actively exploited vulnerability

ZK Framework AuUploader: vulnerability flaw under attack

CVE-2022-36537 · ZK Framework AuUploader Unspecified Vulnerability

Business software7.5 highUsed in ransomware attacks

What is affected

ZK Framework AuUploader is mostly run by companies, schools and public bodies, not on home computers. You are unlikely to have it yourself, but organisations that hold your data may. Breaches that start with flaws like this one are how personal data ends up leaked.

ZK Framework AuUploader servlets contain an unspecified vulnerability that could allow an attacker to retrieve the content of a file located in the web context. The ZK Framework is an open-source Java framework. This vulnerability can impact multiple products, including but not limited to ConnectWise R1Soft Server Backup Manager.

CISA's description

What an attacker can do

This is a vulnerability flaw. It lets an attacker misuse the product in a way its maker did not intend. CISA lists it because attackers are confirmed to be using it against real systems.

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. At home: nothing to install. Keep your own devices updated and use a different password for every service, so that a breach at one organisation does not open your other accounts.
  2. If you administer ZK Framework AuUploader at work: apply the vendor's fix or mitigation now and review logs for signs of compromise, because the flaw was being exploited before it was listed.
  3. If the product is past its support date and no fix exists, take it off the internet or retire it.

Apply updates per vendor instructions.

Action required by CISA for US federal agencies

Vendor advisories and fixes

How urgent is it

CISA added this vulnerability to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalogue on February 27, 2023, which means there is reliable evidence of attacks in the wild. US federal agencies must fix it by March 20, 2023, 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 95% probability that this flaw will be exploited somewhere in the next 30 days. That is higher than 99.9% of all scored vulnerabilities.

Its CVSS severity score is 7.5 out of 10 (high), as recorded in the US National Vulnerability Database.

Technical description

ZK Framework v9.6.1, 9.6.0.1, 9.5.1.3, 9.0.1.2 and 8.6.4.1 allows attackers to access sensitive information via a crafted POST request sent to the component AuUploader.

NIST National Vulnerability Database
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