CVE-2021-27876KEV · OVERDUE

Veritas Backup Exec Agent File Access Vulnerability

High · published March 1, 2021

Patch now

Confirmed exploited, and the score agrees

CVSS calls it high at 8.1. It is confirmed in active exploitation. It sits in the 96.4th percentile for exploit probability.

1275
days past CISA
deadline
CVSS v3.1
8.1
EPSS
14%
Percentile
96.4
In the wild
Confirmed
What it is

🚨 A vulnerability in Veritas Backup Exec lets attackers ride the authentication train straight to your sensitive files! 🔥 Think of this like a security guard at a digital vault who mistakenly trusts the wrong ID badge — once in, an attacker can access everything, just like a thief rifling through confidential documents in an office. An attacker with knowledge of this vulnerability could gain unauthorized access to your backup environment, allowing them to execute commands that access any file on the system with System privileges. This means they could potentially read, alter, or even delete critical backup data — an absolute nightmare for any organization!

Put simply

Think of this like a security guard at a digital vault who mistakenly trusts the wrong ID badge — once in, an attacker can access everything, just like a thief rifling through confidential documents in an office. This vulnerability arises from an issue in the SHA Authentication scheme used in Veritas Backup Exec, where a successful authentication can be bypassed, granting attackers the ability to execute data management commands on an authenticated connection.

What to do

An attacker with knowledge of this vulnerability could gain unauthorized access to your backup environment, allowing them to execute commands that access any file on the system with System privileges. This means they could potentially read, alter, or even delete critical backup data — an absolute nightmare for any organization! To protect your systems, immediately update to Veritas Backup Exec version 21.2 or higher. Ensure that your security protocols are robust and consider auditing your current authentication methods as an added precaution. You've got this! Follow these steps, and you'll have your backup environment secured in no time! 🛡️

The record
Technical detail
CVSS v3.1
8.1 · HIGH
Vector
CVSS:3.1/AC:L/AV:N/A:N/C:H/I:H/PR:L/S:U/UI:N
CVSS v4.0
Not supplied
EPSS
0.13518 · 96.4th percentile
Published
2021-03-01T21:49Z
KEV added
2023-04-07 · due 2023-04-28
EPSS history
Timeline
  • 07 APR 00:00Z
    Added to CISA KEV — remediate by Apr 28
    kev
  • 01 MAR 21:49Z
    An issue was discovered in Veritas Backup Exec before 21.2
    cvelistv5