[UPDATED] Attack surface management firm Censys has identified roughly 30,000 internet-exposed QNAP network-attached storage (NAS) appliances that are likely affected by a recently disclosed critical-severity code injection vulnerability.
Tracked as CVE-2022-27596 (CVSS score of 9.8), the security defect is described as an SQL injection bug that allows remote attackers to inject malicious code into vulnerable NAS devices.
The issue impacts all devices that run QTS 5.0.1 and QuTS hero h5.0.1, and Censys says that nearly 30,000 devices running a vulnerable software version can be found on the internet.
However, the number of affected devices could be much higher, the company warns. Censys has identified over 67,000 hosts that run QNAP software, but it could not retrieve the version information for 37,000 of them.
Most of the identified vulnerable hosts are in Italy (3,200) and the US (3,149). Taiwan (1,942), Germany (1,881), and Japan (1,714) round up the top five list.
“If the exploit is published and weaponized, it could spell trouble to thousands of QNAP users. Everyone must upgrade their QNAP devices immediately to be safe from future ransomware campaigns,” Censys notes.
QNAP appliances are known to be a target for cybercriminals, and the recent Deadbolt ransomware attacks are proof of that. At its peak, the threat had infected over 20,000 devices, allowing cybercriminals to steal roughly $200,000 from victims.
“While there are no indications that bad actors are using this new exploit, the threat is definitely on the horizon,” Censys underlines.
QNAP has patched the vulnerability with the release of QTS 5.0.1.2234 build 20221201 and QuTS hero h5.0.1.2248 build 20221215. Users are advised to update their devices as soon as possible and to make sure that they are not accessible directly from the internet.
UPDATE: QNAP has updated its advisory to say that QTS 5.0.0, QTS 4.x.x, QuTS hero 5.0.0 and QuTS hero 4.5.x are not affected. In response, Censys has updated its blog post to say that most of the devices it initially classified as affected are not actually affected by the vulnerability.
Related: QNAP Patches Critical Vulnerability in Network Surveillance Products
Related: QNAP Warns NAS Users of DeadBolt Ransomware Attacks
