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Actively exploited in the wild. This CVE is on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities list — treat remediation as urgent. Federal remediation due by 15 Apr 2022.
HelpdeskApplication · Qnap

CVE-2020-2506

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-02-03
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 3.0.3 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
In the wild Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
The vulnerability have been reported to affect earlier versions of QTS. If exploited, this improper access control vulnerability could allow attackers to compromise the security of the software by gaining privileges, or reading sensitive information. This issue affects: QNAP Systems Inc. Helpdesk versions prior to 3.0.3.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · moderate confidence

This is an improper access control vulnerability in QNAP QTS Helpdesk versions prior to 3.0.3. The vulnerability allows attackers to gain elevated privileges or read sensitive information by exploiting insufficient access control checks in the helpdesk software.

MitigationUpgrade QNAP QTS Helpdesk to version 3.0.3 or later to remediate the improper access control vulnerability.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
HelpdeskApplication
Affected:< 3.0.3

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Locate the QNAP Helpdesk version
    Log into the QNAP NAS admin interface, go to App Center or Helpdesk settings, and find the installed version number of QNAP Helpdesk
    Affected if The displayed version number is lower than 3.0.3 (for example, 3.0.2, 3.0.1, or earlier)
  2. Verify the Helpdesk application is running
    In the QNAP admin panel, check the App Center or Services status to confirm QNAP Helpdesk is installed and currently running
    Affected if Helpdesk is installed and running on a version prior to 3.0.3
  3. Check Helpdesk network accessibility
    Determine if the Helpdesk web interface is accessible from the network by accessing the Helpdesk URL (typically https://[qnap-ip]:[port]/helpdesk) from an external or unauthorized system
    Affected if The Helpdesk interface is exposed to network access and the version is below 3.0.3
  4. Confirm admin authorization configuration
    Review Helpdesk security settings in the admin panel under Helpdesk > Settings > Security to verify if authorization enforcement is properly configured
    Affected if Authorization settings cannot be verified or the software version prevents proper enforcement checks

A user is affected if QNAP Helpdesk is installed and running with a version number lower than 3.0.3, regardless of whether the Helpdesk interface is network-accessible or authentication is enforced

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 3.0.3 or later
Fixed in 3.0.3
Interim mitigation

Upgrade QNAP QTS Helpdesk to version 3.0.3 or later to remediate the improper access control vulnerability.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Helpdesk 3.0.3

  1. Log in to the QNAP NAS administrative interface
  2. Navigate to the App Center or Helpdesk application management section
  3. Locate the QNAP Helpdesk application
  4. Check the current installed version of Helpdesk
  5. If the installed version is earlier than 3.0.3, locate the update option
  6. Update the Helpdesk application to version 3.0.3 or later
  7. Verify the update was successful and the new version is 3.0.3 or higher

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Helpdesk Exploited in the wild — priority engagement
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,060
Get it fixed fast

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,696.

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2020-2506 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data