CVE-2022-45451 in Cyber Protect Home Office
Summary
by MITRE • 08/31/2023
Local privilege escalation due to insecure driver communication port permissions. The following products are affected: Acronis Cyber Protect Home Office (Windows) before build 40173, Acronis Agent (Windows) before build 30600, Acronis Cyber Protect 15 (Windows) before build 30984.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/27/2023
This vulnerability represents a critical local privilege escalation flaw in Acronis backup and security software products that stems from improper driver communication port permissions. The issue affects multiple Acronis components including Cyber Protect Home Office, Agent, and Cyber Protect 15 across Windows platforms, with specific build version thresholds indicating the scope of affected installations. The root cause lies in the insecure configuration of kernel-mode driver communication interfaces that should normally be restricted to privileged access but instead permit unauthorized local users to interact with sensitive system components. This misconfiguration creates a direct pathway for privilege escalation attacks where unprivileged local accounts can leverage the vulnerable driver interfaces to execute arbitrary code with elevated privileges.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability exploits the fundamental principle of least privilege by failing to properly restrict access controls on driver communication ports. When the Acronis driver components initialize their communication channels, they establish port endpoints that should only accept connections from trusted system processes or administrators. However, the insecure permissions allow any local user account to establish connections to these ports, effectively bypassing normal access control mechanisms. This flaw operates at the kernel level where the driver communication interfaces are exposed to user-mode processes, creating a dangerous attack surface that can be exploited through carefully crafted communications to the vulnerable driver endpoints.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple privilege escalation to encompass potential system compromise and data exfiltration capabilities. An attacker with local access to an affected system can leverage this vulnerability to gain SYSTEM-level privileges without requiring administrative credentials or complex exploitation techniques. This makes the vulnerability particularly dangerous in environments where multiple users share systems or where users may have legitimate local access but should not possess administrative capabilities. The vulnerability's presence in backup and security software creates additional risks as these components often run with elevated privileges and may have access to sensitive system information or data that could be compromised through this privilege escalation vector.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should focus on immediate patch deployment and system hardening measures. Organizations must prioritize updating all affected Acronis products to versions that address the insecure driver communication port permissions, with particular attention to the specific build version thresholds mentioned in the vulnerability description. System administrators should also implement additional access controls through group policy configurations and registry modifications that further restrict access to vulnerable driver interfaces. The mitigation approach aligns with security best practices outlined in the ATT&CK framework under privilege escalation techniques where adversaries seek to gain higher-level permissions. Additionally, organizations should consider implementing monitoring solutions that can detect unusual driver communication patterns or unauthorized access attempts to these vulnerable interfaces, providing early warning capabilities for potential exploitation attempts.