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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 20 Mar 2023. Known ransomware use
Zk FrameworkApplication · Zkoss

CVE-2022-36537

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-08-26
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 8.6.4.2 / 9.0.1.3 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
In the wild Ransomware High EPSS Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click Patch available

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
ZK Framework v9.6.1, 9.6.0.1, 9.5.1.3, 9.0.1.2 and 8.6.4.1 allows attackers to access sensitive information via a crafted POST request sent to the component AuUploader.

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

The vulnerability exists in the AuUploader component of ZK Framework versions 9.6.1, 9.6.0.1, 9.5.1.3, 9.0.1.2 and 8.6.4.1. An unauthenticated attacker can send a crafted POST request to the AuUploader component to access sensitive information, likely due to insufficient authorization checks or improper path handling in the upload functionality.

MitigationUpdate ZK Framework to a patched version if available. If immediate patching is not possible, restrict access to the AuUploader endpoint via authentication, network controls, or web application firewall rules to prevent unauthorized access.

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
Zk FrameworkApplication
Affected:< 8.6.4.2>= 9.0.0, < 9.0.1.3>= 9.5.0, < 9.5.1.3>= 9.6.0, < 9.6.2

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
None
Availability
None

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

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. Identify ZK Framework installation and version
    Locate the ZK library JAR file (zk.jar, zkbind.jar, or similar) in your application's classpath or WEB-INF/lib directory, then check the file metadata or MANIFEST.MF for the version number
    Affected if The installed version is < 8.6.4.2, or >= 9.0.0 and < 9.0.1.3, or >= 9.5.0 and < 9.5.1.3, or >= 9.6.0 and < 9.6.2
  2. Verify AuUploader component is in use
    Search application source code for references to AuUploader, uploader, or the zul component notation for uploader elements (e.g., <uploader> or any custom uploader implementations using ZK's upload functionality)
    Affected if The AuUploader component or any ZK upload mechanism is present and deployed in the application
  3. Confirm exposed upload endpoints
    Review web.xml and application server configuration for servlet mappings related to ZK's AU (Asynchronous Update) requests. Check for URLs matching patterns like /zkau/* or /auUploader/* that accept POST requests without authentication
    Affected if ZK's AU servlet endpoint is publicly accessible without authentication or additional access controls
  4. Test for unauthenticated access to upload functionality
    Send a crafted POST request to the ZK AU endpoint (typically /zkau/au) with upload-related command parameters, observing whether the server processes the request without requiring authentication credentials
    Affected if The server accepts and processes unauthenticated POST requests to the AuUploader endpoint

A system is affected if it runs a ZK Framework version within the affected ranges AND has the AuUploader component deployed with the AU endpoint accessible without authentication

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 8.6.4.2 / 9.0.1.3 / 9.5.1.3 or later
Fixed in 8.6.4.29.0.1.39.5.1.3
Vendor patch tracker.zkoss.org →
Interim mitigation

Update ZK Framework to a patched version if available. If immediate patching is not possible, restrict access to the AuUploader endpoint via authentication, network controls, or web application firewall rules to prevent unauthorized access.

Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to ZK Framework 8.6.4.2 (8.x) or 9.0.1.3 (9.0.x) or 9.5.1.3 (9.5.x) or 9.6.2 (9.6.x) - choose the appropriate version based on your current major branch

  1. Identify the current ZK Framework version in use by checking project dependencies (pom.xml, build.gradle, or library files)
  2. Determine which major version branch (8.x, 9.0.x, 9.5.x, or 9.6.x) is currently in use
  3. For ZK 8.x users: Upgrade to version 8.6.4.2 or later
  4. For ZK 9.0.x users: Upgrade to version 9.0.1.3 or later
  5. For ZK 9.5.x users: Upgrade to version 9.5.1.3 or later
  6. For ZK 9.6.x users: Upgrade to version 9.6.2 or later
  7. Update the dependency in build configuration (Maven pom.xml or Gradle build.gradle)
  8. Rebuild and redeploy the application
Caveat Minor: ZK framework point releases typically maintain backward compatibility; verify application functionality in staging before production deployment

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

Fix this in Zk Framework Exploited in the wild — priority engagement
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
12.0 hours of engineering $2,080
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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-2022-36537 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
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