CVE-2022-22990
Published: 13 January 2022
Summary
CVE-2022-22990 is a high-severity Improper Authentication (CWE-287) vulnerability in Westerndigital My Cloud Os. Its CVSS base score is 7.8 (High).
Operationally, ranked in the top 17.3% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
Deeper analysis
A limited authentication bypass vulnerability affecting Western Digital My Cloud devices was discovered in the access token validation logic and associated PHP script rewrite rules. The flaw, tracked under CWE-287 and CWE-697, could be triggered to permit remote code execution and privilege escalation on the affected NAS products running OS 5 firmware.
An attacker with the ability to reach the device could exploit the bypass to obtain elevated privileges and execute arbitrary code. The CVSS 7.8 vector indicates local access with high attack complexity and no required privileges or user interaction, yet successful exploitation yields high confidentiality and integrity impact within a changed scope.
Western Digital addressed the issue in My Cloud OS 5 firmware version 5.19-117 by revising the access token validation logic and PHP rewrite rules, as detailed in advisory WDC-22002. Zero Day Initiative reports ZDI-22-076 and ZDI-22-347 provide additional technical context on the flaw.
EPSS for the CVE rose materially from a low baseline to a peak of 0.0953 on 2025-01-22 before receding to the current value of 0.0171, indicating a period of increased exploitation interest well after the original 2022 disclosure.
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2022-28101
Vulnerability details
A limited authentication bypass vulnerability was discovered that could allow an attacker to achieve remote code execution and escalate privileges on the My Cloud devices. Addressed this vulnerability by changing access token validation logic and rewriting rule logic on PHP…
more
scripts.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
No named actor attribution yet. ATT&CK technique mapping in progress for this CVE.
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
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.
Detects unauthorized successful logons resulting from improper authentication implementations.
Documented procedures ensure personnel are trained on authentication mechanisms, tangibly lowering the risk of improper authentication being exploited.
Security awareness training instructs users on secure authentication practices and avoiding credential compromise.
Training on authentication mechanisms and best practices decreases the occurrence of improper authentication.
Non-repudiation requires strong authentication mechanisms to irrefutably attribute performed actions to specific individuals or processes.
Session content review can reveal authentication bypasses or failures in session establishment.
Review of authentication-related audit records can detect improper authentication mechanisms or bypasses.
Assessments check authentication mechanisms for correct implementation and effectiveness, reducing successful authentication bypass attempts.