Threats / Veeam / CVE-2022-26501
CVE-2022-26501
· EUVD no mirror located
· GCVE no mirror located
Verified 2026-08-04
Veeam Backup & Replication vulnerability
Veeam Backup & Replication contains an authentication bypass in the Distribution Service that allows unauthenticated remote code execution through the internal API.
Verdict
Today item, not a backlog item.
An unauthenticated attacker can exploit missing authentication controls in Veeam's Distribution Service to upload and execute arbitrary code, leading to complete system compromise and data exfiltration.
CISA KEV Yes · 2022-12-134Ransomware use Flagged4EPSS 0.04278 (verify live)5Exploit Weaponized · public PoC6CVSS 9.8 (CISA)3CISA SSVC Exploitation: active · Automatable: yes · Impact: total3
01
Is it exploitable?
— the evidence, ranked above the scoreExploit available
Fully weaponized — public exploit code is cataloged for this vulnerability.We link the existence of the exploit; we do not host or redistribute payloads.
Reported 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 0.04278 — modeled likelihood of exploitation activity.EPSS is a daily-changing model output — open the source for today's value.
Severity / affected
CVSS 9.8 (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/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-306 Missing Authentication — weakness family: Authentication.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: yes · 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 Veeam Distribution Service exposed on the network without authentication requirements.
Business
The backup infrastructure, trusted to protect critical data, becomes an entry point for unauthorized access.
2
Keys to the kingdom — privilege/identity takeover narrative 2
Attacker
I send malicious code directly to the internal API functions without providing credentials.
Business
Security controls designed to restrict administrative functions are completely bypassed.
3
Lateral reach — past segmentation narrative 3
Attacker
I upload and execute arbitrary code with the privileges of the Veeam service.
Business
Attackers gain persistent access to backup systems and can encrypt or exfiltrate all protected data.
4
Data at risk — exfiltration narrative 4
Attacker
I establish command and control over the backup infrastructure to deploy ransomware across the environment.
Business
Recovery capabilities are destroyed, forcing the organization to pay ransom or accept permanent data loss.
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