CVE-2024-48248: NAKIVO Backup and Replication Absolute Path Traversal Vulnerability

CVE-2024-48248 is an absolute path traversal vulnerability in NAKIVO Backup and Replication. It allows an attacker to read arbitrary files on the system hosting the product. Backup and replication platforms often hold credentials, configuration data, and copies of production systems, so unauthorized file access can expose sensitive operational and business information. Defenders should treat this as a high-priority review item for any environment running the software.

Public detail is limited to the CISA summary and the stated weakness class. Confirm exact impact, affected releases, and exploitation prerequisites against the vendor advisory before acting.

How it works

The flaw is classified as CWE-36, Absolute Path Traversal. In this class of weakness, the application fails to properly restrict file-system paths supplied by a user or remote request. An attacker who can reach the vulnerable interface can supply an absolute path that points outside the intended directory, causing the application to open and return the contents of files that should remain inaccessible.

Because the product is a backup and replication solution, successful abuse can yield configuration files, credential stores, logs, or other data that the service account can read. No public exploit code or precise request format is provided in the available facts; treat any claimed proof-of-concept as unverified until matched against the vendor’s technical description. The core risk remains unauthorized disclosure of files the process can access.

Am I affected? How to find it in your systems

NAKIVO Backup and Replication is typically deployed as a dedicated appliance, virtual machine, or installed service that manages backups of virtual machines, physical servers, or cloud workloads. Inventory steps include:

• Search asset-management and CMDB records for “NAKIVO” or the product’s service names.
• Scan network ranges for the management ports and web consoles the product normally exposes (confirm current defaults in the vendor documentation).
• Query package inventories, container registries, and hypervisor templates for the product binaries or images.
• Review configuration-management databases and backup job inventories for references to NAKIVO repositories or agents.

Once instances are located, compare the installed version and build against the list of fixed releases published by the vendor. Also note whether the management interface is reachable from untrusted networks. Log sources that may indicate exploitation include unexpected file-open events by the NAKIVO service account, anomalous HTTP or API requests containing absolute path strings, and sudden spikes in read activity against system directories outside the product’s normal working set. Correlate these with authentication logs for the management console.

How to remediate

The primary remediation is to apply the vendor-supplied update that addresses CVE-2024-48248. Follow the installation and verification steps published in the official advisory. After patching, restart the affected services and confirm the new version string.

Additional hardening for this class of flaw includes:

• Ensure the service account runs with the least privileges required for backup operations.
• Restrict the management interface to trusted administrative networks or jump hosts.
• Enable and retain detailed application and operating-system file-access auditing.
• Review and rotate any credentials or encryption keys that may have been stored in readable files.

CISA guidance further directs organizations to apply mitigations per vendor instructions, follow BOD 22-01 for any cloud-hosted instances, or discontinue use if mitigations cannot be implemented.

If you can't patch immediately

Until the vendor update can be deployed, reduce exposure with compensating controls:

• Segment the NAKIVO management network so that only authorized administrative hosts can reach the console and API endpoints.
• Place a web-application firewall or reverse-proxy rule set in front of the interface to block requests containing absolute path patterns or directory-traversal sequences; tune carefully to avoid breaking legitimate backup traffic.
• Temporarily disable any non-essential remote-management or API features that accept path parameters, if the product configuration allows it.
• Increase monitoring and alerting on file-system access by the NAKIVO process and on authentication failures to the management interface.
• If the risk remains unacceptable, take the service offline and restore critical backups from an isolated, known-good copy until patching is complete.

Document every temporary control and schedule the permanent patch as soon as operationally feasible.

If your data may have been exposed

Actively exploited path-traversal flaws can lead to data breaches when sensitive files are read. Although ransomware use of this specific CVE is not documented, any confirmed unauthorized file access should trigger incident-response procedures: isolate the host, preserve logs, and assess which files may have been disclosed. Organizations can also run a free exposure scan of their email addresses against known breach data sets to determine whether related credentials or personal information have already appeared in public dumps. Continue monitoring for secondary use of any material that may have been obtained.