Actively exploited vulnerability
SimpleHelp: file access flaw under attack
CVE-2024-57727 · SimpleHelp Path Traversal Vulnerability
What is affected
SimpleHelp 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.
SimpleHelp remote support software contains multiple path traversal vulnerabilities that allow unauthenticated remote attackers to download arbitrary files from the SimpleHelp host via crafted HTTP requests. These files may include server configuration files and hashed user passwords.
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
- 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.
- If you administer SimpleHelp 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.
- If the product is past its support date and no fix exists, take it off the internet or retire it.
Apply mitigations per vendor instructions or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.
Vendor advisories and fixes
- simple-help.comsimple-help.com/kb---security-vulnerabilities-01-2025
How urgent is it
CISA added this vulnerability to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalogue on February 13, 2025, which means there is reliable evidence of attacks in the wild. US federal agencies must fix it by March 6, 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 97% 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
SimpleHelp remote support software v5.5.7 and before is vulnerable to multiple path traversal vulnerabilities that enable unauthenticated remote attackers to download arbitrary files from the SimpleHelp host via crafted HTTP requests. These files include server configuration files containing various secrets and hashed user passwords.