Threats / Veeam / CVE-2022-26500
CVE-2022-26500
· EUVD no mirror located
· GCVE no mirror located
Verified 2026-08-04
Veeam Backup & Replication vulnerability
Veeam Backup & Replication contains an unauthenticated API access vulnerability allowing remote code execution through malicious code upload and execution.
Verdict
Today item, not a backlog item.
An unauthenticated remote attacker can exploit the Veeam Distribution Service to upload and execute arbitrary code, leading to complete system compromise. This vulnerability has been actively exploited in ransomware campaigns.
CISA KEV Yes · 2022-12-134Ransomware use Flagged4EPSS 0.0594 (verify live)5CVSS 8.8 (CISA)3CISA SSVC Exploitation: active · Automatable: no · Impact: total3
01
Is it exploitable?
— the evidence, ranked above the scoreReported exploitation
5 independent public reports of in-the-wild exploitation are cataloged.Distinct reporting sources (vendor, incident response, government); open them for the underlying claims.
Exploited in the wild
Listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2022-12-13), flagged for known ransomware use.
Probability (EPSS)
EPSS 0.0594 — modeled likelihood of exploitation activity.EPSS is a daily-changing model output — open the source for today's value.
Severity / affected
CVSS 8.8 (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H) · Affected: Veeam, Backup & Replication. Confirm exact fixed builds in the vendor advisory.CVSS — CISA-assigned via the ADP container (CVE.org), version 3.1; the CNA left no metrics, so CISA's own score is used ahead of NVD.
Weakness (CWE)
Mapped to CWE-22 Path Traversal — weakness family: Path traversal / file.CWE assignment from the public NVD record (may be stale); the weakness class drives how the flaw is exploited.
CISA SSVC (triage disposition)
Exploitation: active · Automatable: no · Technical Impact: totalCISA's own stakeholder-specific triage inputs, published in the CVE record (CISA Coordinator role). NOTE: this is CISA's three decision points; the final Act/Attend/Track decision also requires a Mission & Well-being input not published here, so no overall decision is asserted.
Currency of the record
CISA added this to its KEV catalog 271 days after the CVE record was published.KEV lag = CISA-KEV dateAdded − CVE.org datePublished; a floor on how long the known-exploited flaw sat in the public record before the federal catalog listed it. Severity/weakness here is CNA- or CISA-assigned (current at disclosure), independent of NVD's analysis backlog.
02
Who’s exploiting it?
— attribution turns risk into urgencyAttribution not established
No confirmed (advisory-backed) threat-actor attribution is established for this record. Absence of a named actor is not absence of compromise — see Coverage & confidence.
03
Why it matters
— the attack path, told twice: adversary, then board1
Front door — unauthenticated access narrative 1
Attacker
I identify the unauthenticated Veeam Distribution Service API endpoint exposed on the network.
Business
The organization's backup infrastructure is directly accessible without authentication controls.
2
Keys to the kingdom — privilege/identity takeover narrative 2
Attacker
I craft malicious input to the internal API functions to upload executable code to the system.
Business
Backup systems become a vector for unauthorized code deployment within the infrastructure.
3
Lateral reach — past segmentation narrative 3
Attacker
I execute the uploaded malicious code with the privileges of the Veeam service.
Business
Attackers gain code execution on critical backup infrastructure, enabling lateral movement and data exfiltration.
4
Data at risk — exfiltration narrative 4
Attacker
I establish persistence and deploy ransomware across the backup environment and connected systems.
Business
Backup and recovery capabilities are compromised, preventing disaster recovery and enabling widespread encryption attacks.
04
What to do
— defensible action- Remediate per the vendor advisory — confirm the fixed build for your version and verify exposure.1
Say it to the boardA vulnerability with this evidence profile is a defensible budget line, not a backlog ticket — fund the change against the proof above.
05