Cleo products: file access flaw under attack

What is affected

Cleo products are found on ordinary personal computers and phones, so this is not only a problem for companies. If you use them and have not updated since the fix was released, you are exposed.

Cleo Harmony, VLTrader, and LexiCom, which are managed file transfer products, contain an unrestricted file upload vulnerability that could allow an unauthenticated user to import and execute arbitrary bash or PowerShell commands on the host system by leveraging the default settings of the Autorun directory.

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. Update Cleo products now. Open the update or "About" screen, install whatever is offered and restart the app or device, because the fix is not active until you do.
2. Turn on automatic updates so the next fix arrives without you having to look for it.
3. If your device is too old to receive this update, stop using the affected app for anything sensitive and plan a replacement.

Apply mitigations per vendor instructions or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.

Vendor advisories and fixes

• support.cleo.comsupport.cleo.com/hc/en-us/articles/28408134019735-Cleo-Product-Security-Update-CVE-2024-55

How urgent is it

CISA added this vulnerability to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalogue on December 17, 2024, which means there is reliable evidence of attacks in the wild. US federal agencies must fix it by January 7, 2025, 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 94% probability that this flaw will be exploited somewhere in the next 30 days. That is higher than 99.8% 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

In Cleo Harmony before 5.8.0.24, VLTrader before 5.8.0.24, and LexiCom before 5.8.0.24, an unauthenticated user can import and execute arbitrary Bash or PowerShell commands on the host system by leveraging the default settings of the Autorun directory.