CVE-2023-48677 in Cyber Protect Home Office
Summary
by MITRE • 12/12/2023
Local privilege escalation due to DLL hijacking vulnerability. The following products are affected: Acronis Cyber Protect Home Office (Windows) before build 40901, Acronis Cyber Protect Cloud Agent (Windows) before build 39378, Acronis Cyber Protect 16 (Windows) before build 39938, Acronis True Image OEM (Windows) before build 42575.
Be aware that VulDB is the high quality source for vulnerability data.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/11/2026
This vulnerability represents a critical local privilege escalation vector through dynamic link library hijacking that affects multiple Acronis cybersecurity products across Windows platforms. The flaw stems from improper handling of dynamic library loading mechanisms within the affected software components, creating opportunities for malicious actors to execute arbitrary code with elevated privileges. The vulnerability specifically targets the way these applications resolve and load dynamic link libraries during execution, allowing attackers to place malicious DLL files in strategic locations where the legitimate software will load them without proper validation.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability aligns with common DLL hijacking patterns that fall under CWE-426, which describes the insecure loading of dynamic libraries. Attackers can exploit this weakness by placing a specially crafted malicious DLL file in a directory that appears earlier in the Windows DLL search order than the legitimate library location. This allows the malicious code to execute with the privileges of the targeted application, which typically runs with elevated permissions due to the security context of the cybersecurity software. The vulnerability is particularly concerning because these products are designed to run with high privileges to perform system-level operations, making the potential impact of privilege escalation significant.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple code execution, as it can enable attackers to gain complete control over affected systems. Once elevated privileges are obtained, adversaries can manipulate system configurations, install additional malware, exfiltrate sensitive data, or establish persistent access through the compromised cybersecurity software. The affected products are commonly deployed in enterprise environments where they may be running with administrative privileges, amplifying the potential damage. The vulnerability affects multiple product variants including home office, cloud agent, and enterprise versions, suggesting a systemic issue in the software development practices related to library loading and security hardening.
Mitigation strategies should focus on immediate patching of affected versions, as the vendors have released updates addressing this specific vulnerability. Organizations should also implement additional security controls such as monitoring for suspicious DLL loading activities through Windows Event Logging and application whitelisting policies. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this type of vulnerability under T1055 for process injection techniques and T1068 for exploit for privilege escalation. Security teams should deploy behavioral monitoring solutions that can detect anomalous DLL loading patterns and ensure that all software installations follow secure coding practices that enforce proper DLL search order validation. Network segmentation and least privilege principles should be enforced to limit the potential lateral movement once an attacker has achieved initial compromise through this vulnerability.