CVE-2024-42453: Veeam Backup Privilege Escalation Flaw

CVE-2024-42453 Overview

CVE-2024-42453 is a Missing Authorization vulnerability (CWE-862) in Veeam Backup & Replication that allows low-privileged users to control and modify configurations on connected virtual infrastructure hosts. This includes the ability to power off virtual machines, delete files in storage, and make configuration changes, potentially leading to Denial of Service (DoS) and data integrity issues. The vulnerability is caused by improper permission checks in methods accessed via management services.

Critical Impact

Low-privileged authenticated attackers can manipulate virtual infrastructure configurations, power off VMs, and delete storage files, causing service disruption and potential data loss in enterprise backup environments.

Affected Products

• Veeam Backup & Replication (all vulnerable versions prior to patch)
• Connected virtual infrastructure hosts managed by Veeam
• Enterprise backup environments utilizing Veeam management services

Discovery Timeline

• 2024-12-04 - CVE-2024-42453 published to NVD
• 2025-04-24 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2024-42453

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability stems from improper permission validation in Veeam Backup & Replication's management services. The affected methods fail to properly verify whether the requesting user has appropriate authorization before executing sensitive operations on connected virtual infrastructure hosts.

The attack is network-accessible and requires only low-level authentication to exploit. An attacker with legitimate but limited credentials can bypass authorization controls to perform privileged actions including virtual machine power management, file deletion on storage systems, and configuration modifications.

The impact is significant for both data integrity and system availability. Organizations relying on Veeam for backup operations could face operational disruption through unauthorized VM shutdowns, as well as potential data loss through storage file deletion.

Root Cause

The root cause is CWE-862: Missing Authorization. The vulnerability exists because certain methods within Veeam's management services do not implement proper permission checks before executing operations. When authenticated users access these management service endpoints, the application fails to validate whether they possess the necessary privileges for the requested action, allowing low-privileged users to perform operations that should be restricted to administrators.

Attack Vector

The attack vector is network-based, allowing remote exploitation by any authenticated user regardless of their assigned privilege level. An attacker must first obtain valid credentials (even low-privilege) to the Veeam Backup & Replication environment. Once authenticated, they can:

1. Access management service endpoints designed for administrative operations
2. Invoke methods that modify virtual infrastructure host configurations
3. Execute VM power operations (shutdown/power off)
4. Delete files from connected storage systems
5. Modify system configurations leading to persistent denial of service

The vulnerability does not require user interaction and can be exploited with low attack complexity, making it particularly dangerous in multi-user enterprise environments where various administrators and operators have different access levels.

Detection Methods for CVE-2024-42453

Indicators of Compromise

• Unusual configuration changes to virtual infrastructure hosts from non-administrative accounts
• Unexpected virtual machine power state changes (shutdowns, power-offs)
• Unauthorized file deletions in backup storage locations
• Anomalous activity in Veeam management service logs from low-privileged user sessions
• Audit log entries showing privileged operations performed by users without appropriate roles

Detection Strategies

• Monitor Veeam Backup & Replication logs for operations executed by users outside their normal permission scope
• Implement alerting for VM power state changes outside of scheduled maintenance windows
• Track file deletion events in backup storage repositories and correlate with user activity
• Deploy behavioral analytics to detect privilege escalation patterns in backup infrastructure
• Review management service access logs for unusual method invocations

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable comprehensive audit logging in Veeam Backup & Replication
• Configure SIEM rules to correlate user privilege levels with performed operations
• Implement real-time alerting for critical infrastructure changes (VM power, storage modifications)
• Establish baseline activity patterns for each user role to detect anomalous behavior

How to Mitigate CVE-2024-42453

Immediate Actions Required

• Apply the security patch from Veeam immediately per Veeam Knowledge Base Article KB4693
• Audit current user accounts and remove unnecessary access to Veeam Backup & Replication
• Review recent activity logs for signs of exploitation
• Implement network segmentation to limit access to Veeam management interfaces
• Temporarily restrict low-privileged user access until patching is complete

Patch Information

Veeam has released a security update addressing this vulnerability. Organizations should consult the official Veeam Knowledge Base Article KB4693 for specific patch versions and installation instructions. The patch implements proper authorization checks in the affected management service methods to ensure users can only perform operations appropriate to their assigned permission level.

Workarounds

• Restrict network access to Veeam management services to trusted administrative networks only
• Implement strict role-based access control and remove unnecessary user accounts
• Enable enhanced logging and monitoring for all Veeam management service operations
• Deploy network-level access controls (firewalls, ACLs) to limit which systems can reach management endpoints
• Consider disabling non-essential management features until the patch can be applied