External risk intelligence

Vinchin Backup & Recovery Default Root Credentials Vulnerability

CVE advisorySeverity: CRITICAL (CVSS 9.8)

CVE-2024-22902

Vinchin Backup & Recovery is a data protection solution typically deployed as a centralized appliance or management server. These systems often feature a web-based administration interface that is commonly exposed to internal networks or potentially the internet to facilitate management and remote access to backup infrastructure.

Vinchin Backup And Recovery

7.2 and earlier

Halo Surface Signal: 4 out of 5 — likely to be public-facing.

External exposure likelihood

Horizon Alert

Summary of the vulnerability and why it matters

A critical vulnerability has been identified in Vinchin Backup & Recovery software. This issue stems from the use of default root credentials, which could allow unauthorized access to the system. The primary concern is to confirm if our environment utilizes this specific software and version, and if so, to assess the potential exposure.

Default credentials allow unauthorized system access.
Critical for confirming if our backup systems are vulnerable.
Verify exposure; address if relevant to our operations.

Attack Path

How an attacker could exploit the issue

An attacker can gain access to the Vinchin Backup & Recovery system by exploiting its default root credentials, allowing them to execute arbitrary commands on the server. This could lead to a complete compromise of the backup infrastructure.

No authentication required.
Default root credentials trigger command execution.
High risk of system compromise.

Live Threat

Current exploitation, exposure, and threat context

When Vinchin Backup & Recovery is deployed, its default root credentials could allow an unauthenticated attacker to gain complete administrative control over the system. This could impact the integrity and availability of backup data and the backup service itself.

Backup system and data at risk.
Unauthenticated network access can exploit.
Complete system compromise may occur.

Operational Fix

Recommended remediation, mitigation, and detection steps

The Vinchin Backup & Recovery product, with its default root credentials, requires immediate attention from infrastructure and security teams. The first practical step is to discover all instances of this product, confirm their network exposure and business criticality, and identify the accountable owner for remediation planning.

Infrastructure or security teams own the issue.
Verify all Vinchin instances and their exposure.
Plan remediation based on identified risk.

Supplementary metadata

CVSS vector

Validate whether this threat affects your internet-facing exposure.

Halo Threat Intelligence helps prioritize remediation with Halo Surface Signal and H/A/L/O context. Start exposure validation with a free external attack surface trial.

Free EASM Trial See How Signal Works

Frequently asked questions

What is Vinchin Backup & Recovery?

Vinchin Backup & Recovery is a data protection software suite designed to manage and secure virtualized environments and physical infrastructure backups. It acts as a centralized management platform that oversees the integrity and availability of organizational data. Because it manages critical backup archives, the software is often deployed as a core administrative appliance within an organization’s IT infrastructure.

What does CVE-2024-22902 mean for security?

This vulnerability is classified as an issue involving default authentication credentials. In plain terms, the software ships with a built-in 'root' account that uses a preset password rather than requiring a unique, user-defined one. This weakness allows anyone who knows or guesses these factory-set credentials to gain administrative access to the system without providing legitimate login credentials.

How can an attacker trigger this vulnerability?

An attacker triggers this by attempting to log in to the management interface using the default root credentials that remain unchanged from the software's initial state. The bug does not require any sophisticated exploit code or prior authentication to initiate. It is important to note that if an administrator has already replaced these default settings with strong, unique passwords, the specific path for this credential-based entry is effectively neutralized.

Why should I care about this CVE?

If you manage these systems, you should care because Halo Surface Signal notes that Vinchin Backup & Recovery is often accessible via the network to facilitate management. If your instance is reachable over the internet or even on an internal network accessible by unauthorized users, the lack of secure, unique credentials creates a direct pathway for a complete system takeover.

What should I do first to address this?

Your first step is to perform an internal audit to locate all running instances of Vinchin Backup & Recovery within your environment. Once identified, immediately verify whether the default root account credentials are still in use. If they are, update these credentials to complex, unique passwords immediately and ensure the management interface is restricted to authorized administrative segments only.

References

Written by Nicholas Merritt

Nicholas Merritt is VP of Security Solutions at Halo Security. With more than 25 years across application security, vulnerability prioritization, and offensive security, he helps teams translate threat data into practical exposure validation and remediation focus. He authors Halo Threat Intelligence CVE advisories using Halo Surface Signal and H/A/L/O context to prioritize internet-facing risk.