CVE-2023-48680 in Cyber Protect
Summary
by MITRE • 02/27/2024
Sensitive information disclosure due to excessive collection of system information. The following products are affected: Acronis Cyber Protect 16 (macOS, Windows) before build 37391.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/07/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2023-48680 represents a critical sensitive information disclosure flaw within Acronis Cyber Protect 16 across both macOS and Windows platforms. This security weakness stems from the software's excessive collection of system information that extends beyond what is necessary for its core functionality, creating potential exposure points for confidential data. The affected versions prior to build 37391 demonstrate a failure in implementing proper data minimization principles, where the application gathers system metadata, configuration details, and potentially user-related information without adequate sanitization or access controls. This excessive data collection behavior creates a vector for information leakage that could be exploited by malicious actors to gain insights into the targeted systems.
The technical implementation flaw manifests in the application's data collection mechanisms that indiscriminately gather system information without proper filtering or authorization checks. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-200, which addresses the disclosure of sensitive information, and represents a failure in the principle of least privilege during data collection operations. The flaw operates at the application layer where the software components responsible for system monitoring and backup operations collect more data than required for their intended purposes. This excessive information gathering creates opportunities for unauthorized access to system details that could include hardware specifications, software configurations, network settings, and potentially user credentials or personal information.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple information disclosure to potentially enable more sophisticated attacks. An attacker who can exploit this flaw gains access to detailed system information that could be used for further reconnaissance, targeting specific vulnerabilities in the operating system or other applications running on the compromised system. The collected data could reveal system architecture details that aid in crafting targeted attacks or identifying weak points in the security posture. This information leakage creates a persistent threat vector that remains active as long as the vulnerable software remains installed, potentially allowing attackers to maintain long-term access to system details and build comprehensive profiles of the targeted environments.
Organizations utilizing Acronis Cyber Protect 16 prior to build 37391 face significant security risks from this vulnerability, as it creates opportunities for both passive and active reconnaissance attacks. The exposure of system information through this flaw undermines the security model of the backup solution and could potentially compromise the integrity of the entire backup ecosystem. System administrators should consider immediate remediation through software updates to build 37391 or later versions that address the excessive data collection behavior. Additional mitigations include implementing network monitoring to detect unusual data exfiltration patterns, reviewing system logs for anomalous information gathering activities, and ensuring proper network segmentation to limit the potential impact of information disclosure. The vulnerability also highlights the importance of following ATT&CK framework principles, particularly those related to reconnaissance and credential access, where excessive information gathering can serve as a precursor to more serious security incidents. Organizations should also consider implementing data loss prevention controls to monitor for unauthorized system information collection and ensure compliance with privacy regulations that govern the handling of system-level data.