Cyber Resilience

CVE-2017-12477

Auth Bypass in Kaseya Unitrends Backup ≤ 10.0

Public PoCHigh EPSSAuth Bypass
Published
07 August 2017
Modified
13 May 2026
Patch / advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 9.8
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.68 99.3th percentile
Risk Priority 97 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2017-12477 is a critical-severity Improper Authentication (CWE-287) vulnerability in Kaseya Unitrends Backup. Its CVSS base score is 9.8 (Critical).

Operationally, ranked in the top 0.7% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog; a public proof-of-concept is referenced.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

It was discovered that the bpserverd proprietary protocol in Unitrends Backup (UB) before 10.0.0, as invoked through xinetd, has an issue in which its authentication can be bypassed. A remote attacker could use this issue to execute arbitrary commands with…

more

root privilege on the target system.

CWE(s)

Related Threats

Likely ATT&CK TechniquesAI

Techniques this vulnerability likely enables, inferred from its description, weakness type, and attributed-actor tradecraft. Confidence is per-technique.

T1190 Exploit Public-Facing Application Initial Accessconfidence: HIGH
The vulnerability allows remote attackers to bypass authentication in a network-exposed proprietary protocol and execute arbitrary commands with root privileges.
T1068 Exploitation for Privilege Escalation Privilege Escalationconfidence: HIGH
Successful exploitation grants the attacker root-level privileges on the target system.
T1059 Command and Scripting Interpreter Executionconfidence: MEDIUM
Arbitrary command execution with root privileges enables the attacker to run commands via a command-line interpreter.
inferred from description + CWE · MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise v19.0

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2017-12478Same product: Kaseya Unitrends Backup
CVE-2018-6328Same product: Kaseya Unitrends Backup
CVE-2015-6922Same vendor: Kaseya
CVE-2018-20753Same vendor: Kaseya
CVE-2021-30116Same vendor: Kaseya
CVE-2021-30117Same vendor: Kaseya
CVE-2021-30118Same vendor: Kaseya
CVE-2026-5270Shared CWE-287
CVE-2026-10167Shared CWE-287
CVE-2023-3597Shared CWE-287

Affected Assets

kaseya
unitrends backup
≤ 10.0

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)
  • 8 hardening rules · 5 OS baselines
Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • V6.4.4
  • V6.5.4
  • V6.5.5
  • V6.5.7

Likely Mitigating Controls AI

Per-CVE control mapping for this CVE has not run yet; the list below is derived from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry.

addresses: CWE-287

Detects unauthorized successful logons resulting from improper authentication implementations.

addresses: CWE-287

Documented procedures ensure personnel are trained on authentication mechanisms, tangibly lowering the risk of improper authentication being exploited.

addresses: CWE-287

Security awareness training instructs users on secure authentication practices and avoiding credential compromise.

addresses: CWE-287

Training on authentication mechanisms and best practices decreases the occurrence of improper authentication.

addresses: CWE-287

Non-repudiation requires strong authentication mechanisms to irrefutably attribute performed actions to specific individuals or processes.

addresses: CWE-287

Session content review can reveal authentication bypasses or failures in session establishment.

addresses: CWE-287

Review of authentication-related audit records can detect improper authentication mechanisms or bypasses.

addresses: CWE-287

Assessments check authentication mechanisms for correct implementation and effectiveness, reducing successful authentication bypass attempts.

Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

PR.AA-03 mostly match
prevents

PR.AA-03 directly enforces authentication mechanisms that eliminate most improper-authentication defects, yet CWE-287 spans additional vectors (missing checks, flawed protocols, session handling) that one control does not fully close.

PR.AA-04 mostly match
prevents

PR.AA-04 directly enables verification of identity assertions (mostly preventing CWE-287 in that scope) yet leaves many other authentication failure modes unaddressed (only partial prevention overall).

PR.AA-01 partial match
prevents

PR.AA-01 supplies and governs credentials/tokens that authentication relies on, removing some weak-credential cases, yet leaves verification logic, missing checks, and protocol flaws untouched.

PR.AA-02 partial match
prevents

PR.AA-02 ensures valid enrollment and unique credential binding, which reduces some improper-auth risks at issuance time but leaves runtime claim verification untouched, so each direction only partially addresses the other.

PR.PS-01 partial match
prevents

PR.PS-01 can enforce auth-related settings via hardened baselines and default reviews, blocking some config-based instances of CWE-287, yet leaves code-level auth flaws untouched so neither direction reaches mostly.

PR.PS-02 partial match
prevents

Patching/maintenance can remediate some known auth vulnerabilities after deployment (partial forward) but does not address the design or implementation of authentication logic itself (none reverse).

Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

prevents

Requiring authentication methods whose strength matches the sensitivity of the data and mandating multi-factor authentication directly blocks attempts to access resources without proving identity.

prevents

Verifying user identity before issuing replacement credentials and forcing changes after compromise reduces the likelihood that authentication bypass can be achieved through stolen or weak credentials.

prevents

Mandating segregated approval and oversight for non-human identities reduces the chance that weak or orphaned credentials can be exploited for unauthorized authentication.

mitigates

Requiring authentication mechanisms and technical parameters for secure connections ensures that network services verify user identity before granting access, preventing exploitation of missing or weak authentication.

prevents

Security requirements specified early and verified through testing drive the consistent implementation of authentication mechanisms, decreasing the likelihood that authentication steps are omitted or incorrectly applied.

prevents

Defining the required level of trust in entity identity and the authentication mechanisms to achieve it ensures that authentication is explicitly addressed rather than omitted.

References