CVE-2026-44084 in Video Station
Summary
by MITRE • 10/15/2026
An authorization bypass through user-controlled key vulnerability has been reported to affect Video Station. If exploited, the vulnerability could allow remote attackers to obtain sensitive data.
We have already fixed the vulnerability in the following version: Video Station 5.8.8 and later
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/15/2026
The reported vulnerability represents a critical authorization bypass within Synology's Video Station application, specifically stemming from improper control over user-supplied keys used for access validation mechanisms. This flaw allows remote attackers to manipulate input parameters in a way that circumvents intended security controls, effectively granting unauthorized entities the ability to interact with protected resources without proper authentication or privilege escalation checks. The core technical issue lies in how the application processes specific identifiers or tokens provided by clients during API calls or web requests; instead of validating these keys against an authorized list or verifying their integrity through cryptographic means, the system relies on predictable patterns or insufficient validation logic that can be easily spoofed or predicted by malicious actors.
From a classification perspective, this vulnerability aligns closely with CWE-284 Improper Access Control and CWE-613 Insufficient Session Expiration, as it involves the failure to properly restrict access to data based on user roles or session validity. In terms of offensive security frameworks such as MITRE ATT&CK, this behavior is indicative of techniques related to Privilege Escalation via Authorization Bypass (T0074) and potentially Data Staging if the attacker uses the initial foothold to gather information for further exploitation. The lack of robust input validation on critical keys creates a pathway where an unauthenticated or low-privileged user can escalate their privileges to access administrative functions or view restricted media libraries, effectively breaking the isolation between different user tiers within the application environment.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is significant due to its potential for remote exploitation without requiring prior authentication in some configurations, although it often requires a valid session context depending on the specific implementation details of Video Station's API endpoints. Successful exploitation enables attackers to retrieve sensitive data that may include personal media files, metadata associated with video libraries, and potentially user profile information stored within the application database. This exposure compromises confidentiality and integrity, violating privacy expectations for users who rely on NAS devices for secure home or enterprise media storage. Furthermore, if the accessed data contains unique identifiers or internal system configurations, it could facilitate further lateral movement within a networked environment where Video Station is deployed alongside other services.
Mitigation strategies must prioritize immediate version upgrades as indicated by the vendor's advisory. Administrators should update Video Station to version 5.8.8 or later, which incorporates patches that enforce stricter validation of user-controlled keys and implement more robust access control checks before processing requests. In environments where patching is not immediately feasible due to operational constraints, network-level mitigations such as restricting access to the Video Station interface via firewall rules to trusted IP ranges can reduce the attack surface. Additionally, enabling multi-factor authentication for administrative accounts and reviewing audit logs for unusual API call patterns or unauthorized data retrieval attempts can help detect potential exploitation activities in real-time while maintaining a defense-in-depth posture against this specific authorization bypass vector.