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Full vulnerability report · 2021
CVE-2020-2506High confidence

QNAP Helpdesk Improper Access Control Vulnerability

QNAP Systems · Helpdesk

7.3HighCVSS 3.1
Recommended action
Patch now

CISA confirms exploitation in the wild and lists 2022-04-15 as the remediation due date.

Patch available
R
Operational reassessment

Published severity in operational context

Open reassessment dashboard →
Published severityHighOperational priority:Critical, raised one band.upgradedsince 25 Mar 2022

Evidence used

  • CISA confirms exploitation in the wild.
  • The selected CVSS metric records a network-reachable, unauthenticated path with no user interaction.
  • EPSS is 1.98% for the current model date.

Compensating controls

  • Validate the affected product branch and deploy the verified fixed release.
  • Restrict the affected network interface to trusted sources where business-safe.
  • Increase monitoring for the attack path and post-exploitation behaviour described in the report.

Verification

  1. Confirm that the asset runs QNAP Systems Helpdesk and falls inside the recorded affected range.
  2. Verify the installed build against the product-specific fixed version after deployment.
  3. Validate exposure, authentication requirements and compensating controls in the actual environment.
  4. Reopen this reassessment when CVSS, KEV, EPSS, exploit evidence or remediation changes.
Mitigation target: Within 3 daysRemediation target: Within 90 days

This automated reassessment organises public evidence. It does not know asset exposure, business impact or control effectiveness and does not replace CVSS or a human risk decision.

Optional official sources

National CERT insights
?CERT means Computer Emergency Response Team; CSIRT is the closely related term Computer Security Incident Response Team.

Choose official national sources for this report. Each advisory shows its original language. Your selection is remembered on this device and included in shared links.

Official European source

ENISA European Vulnerability Database

Official EUVD identifiers, advisory evidence and known-exploited context. Missing fields are not treated as evidence of low risk.

1 current
ENISA EUVD identifier

EUVD-2020-22299

CISA KEV mirrored by ENISA

The vulnerability have been reported to affect earlier versions of QTS. If exploited, this improper access control vulnerability could allow attackers to compromise the security of the software by gaining privileges, or reading sensitive information. This issue affects: QNAP Systems Inc. Helpdesk versions prior to 3.0.3.

EUVD state
Present in the current official mapping
Known exploitation
Recorded by ENISA since 25 Mar 2022. Evidence sources: cisa_kev.
ENISA score
7.3 · CVSS 3.1
Advisory evidence
No linked advisory details stored yet
Recommended actionPatch now

CISA confirms exploitation in the wild and lists 2022-04-15 as the remediation due date.

Patch available
01

What, why and how

QNAP Helpdesk contains an improper access control vulnerability which could allow an attacker to gain privileges or to read sensitive information.

What

QNAP Helpdesk contains an improper access control vulnerability which could allow an attacker to gain privileges or to read sensitive information.

Why

The product does not restrict or incorrectly restricts access to a resource from an unauthorized actor.

How

An attacker operating through a network path may attempt exploitation without authentication or user interaction. If successful, the issue may obtain information outside the intended access boundary.

What

QNAP Helpdesk contains an improper access control vulnerability which could allow an attacker to gain privileges or to read sensitive information.

Why

The product does not restrict or incorrectly restricts access to a resource from an unauthorized actor.

How

An attacker operating through a network path may attempt exploitation without authentication or user interaction. If successful, the issue may obtain information outside the intended access boundary.

02

Exploit reality and attack path

CVSS severity, EPSS forecast probability, public exploit material and CISA-confirmed exploitation are separate signals.

Observed exploitation
?Confirmed exploitation and public exploit material are separate signals. Attacks can occur without public proof-of-concept or exploit code.
Confirmed in the wild

CISA added this CVE to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalogue on 2022-03-25.

Public PoC / exploit material
?Confirmed exploitation and public exploit material are separate signals. Attacks can occur without public proof-of-concept or exploit code.
None recorded

No exploit-tagged reference or CISA SSVC proof-of-concept state is currently recorded. Research may still exist outside the structured feeds.

Likely attack path
a network path → Improper Access Control → obtain information outside the intended access boundary
Attack surface
Network
Privileges required
None: unauthenticated exploitation is possible
User interaction
None
Attack complexity
Low: no specialised conditions are recorded
Security boundary
Unchanged: impact remains within the vulnerable component's security authority
Weakness
?CWE means Common Weakness Enumeration: a standard category for the underlying weakness.
CWE-284 ↗

CWE-284: Improper Access Control. The product does not restrict or incorrectly restricts access to a resource from an unauthorized actor.

CVSS vector
?CVSS means Common Vulnerability Scoring System. The vector records the metric values used to calculate technical severity.
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L

Common Vulnerability Scoring System 3.1: the compact vector below is decoded into plain language.

AVNetworkAttack vector: The vulnerable component can be reached over a network.ACLowAttack complexity: No specialised conditions are required beyond attacker-controlled input.PRNonePrivileges required: The attacker does not need an account or existing privileges.UINoneUser interaction: No action by another user is required.SUnchangedScope: The security impact remains within the vulnerable component's authority.CLowConfidentiality impact: A successful attack can cause a limited loss.ILowIntegrity impact: A successful attack can cause a limited loss.ALowAvailability impact: A successful attack can cause a limited loss.
Post-exploitation / living off the land
No specific living-off-the-land technique is confirmed in the structured sources. Monitor normal administration tools for activity inconsistent with the affected service's baseline.
NetworkUnauthenticatedCWE-284CISA KEV
A

Official authority intelligence

Only matched European and national findings are included. Language selectors and unavailable sources are omitted.

ENISA EUVD · EUVD-2020-22299Known-exploited evidence recorded

The vulnerability have been reported to affect earlier versions of QTS. If exploited, this improper access control vulnerability could allow attackers to compromise the security of the software by gaining privileges, or reading sensitive information. This issue affects: QNAP Systems Inc. Helpdesk versions prior to 3.0.3.

Official EUVD record ↗
Cyber Security Agency of Singapore · English · CSA-SB-20210210Security Bulletin 10 Feb 2021

The Cyber Security Agency of Singapore included this CVE in its official Security Bulletin 10 Feb 2021, published on 10 February 2021. Open the linked bulletin for the product, severity and reference information published in that issue.

Official advisory ↗
JVN iPedia · Japanese · JVNDB-2021-021186QNAP Systems の Helpdesk における脆弱性

QNAP Systems の Helpdesk には、不特定の脆弱性が存在します。

Official advisory ↗
03

Patch and workaround

Operational remediation based on structured source evidence.

Status
?Patch availability is based on structured fixed-version fields and authoritative update references. If no fix is verified, check the vendor advisory before making a change.
Patch available
Affected
Helpdesk: unspecified < 3.0.3
Fixed
QNAP has already fixed these issues in Helpdesk 3.0.3 and later versions.
Action
Review the linked authoritative reference and apply the recorded fixed release appropriate to the affected product branch.
Workaround
No verified workaround is recorded. If business-safe, reduce exposure to the affected interface and allow only trusted sources until authoritative guidance is available.
04

Evidence and provenance

Published 3 Feb 2021 · Last source change 21 Oct 2025, 23:35 UTC · CWE-284 · Improper Access Control

CVE recordCVE.org · 5.1
CVSS sourceCNA
EPSS source
?The date BlackTree first stored a score for this CVE from the daily FIRST EPSS feed.
FIRST · tracked since 2026-08-14
European sourceENISA EUVD · EUVD-2020-22299
Product sourceCISA KEV
Remediation sourceCVE/CNA references
CWE sourceCNA
NVD statusNVD enriched

Core structured fields are present and their contributing authorities are shown above.

Material change intelligence

What changed after publication

View recent updates ↗
  1. Vendor guidanceAuthoritative vendor guidance changed: added remediation: qnap.com/qsa-20-08.
    Before
    vendor advisory: qnap.com/qsa-20-08
    After
    remediation: qnap.com/qsa-20-08 · vendor advisory: qnap.com/qsa-20-08
    qnap.com ↗
  2. Affected versionsThe structured affected or fixed version information changed.
    Before
    unspecified < 3.0.3 · Fixed: No fixed version is explicitly recorded in the structured CVE data.
    After
    Helpdesk: unspecified < 3.0.3 · Fixed: QNAP has already fixed these issues in Helpdesk 3.0.3 and later versions.
    CNA ↗
  3. Remediation statusRemediation status changed from Awaiting fix to Patch available.
    Before
    Awaiting fix
    After
    Patch available
    qnap.com ↗
Material fields only · duplicate refreshes suppressed · history retained for the configured operational retention period
CVE published
Added to CISA KEV
Fixed release or patch reference recorded
ENISA EUVD · EUVD-2020-22299↗CISA KEV record↗CVE authority or vendor reference↗Official CVE record (CNA and ADP data)↗NVD record↗
Technical terms and abbreviations used in this report
CVE
Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures: the public identifier for one disclosed vulnerability.
CVSS
Common Vulnerability Scoring System: a technical severity framework; it is not patching priority by itself.
EPSS
Exploit Prediction Scoring System: FIRST's estimate of the probability that exploitation activity will be observed in the next 30 days; it is a forecast, not confirmation.
CWE
Common Weakness Enumeration: the standard category describing the underlying software or hardware weakness.
CNA
CVE Numbering Authority: an organisation authorised to assign and publish CVE records.
CISA ADP
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Authorized Data Publisher: structured enrichment added to a CVE record.
NVD
National Vulnerability Database: NIST's enrichment service for CVE records.
CERT / CSIRT
A computer security incident response team that publishes warnings or coordinates incident response.
PoC
Proof of concept: public material that demonstrates or helps reproduce exploitation.
CSAF
Common Security Advisory Framework: a machine-readable format for security advisories.
LoTL
Living off the land: abuse of legitimate tools or system functions during an attack.
Free version - for non-commercial use only.CVE-2020-2506 · cve.blacktree.nl