NetbackupApplication · Veritas

CVE-2024-52945

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-11-18
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 10.5 or later.
See remediation →
81/100
Remediation priority · High
No privileges

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
An issue was discovered in Veritas NetBackup before 10.5. This only applies to NetBackup components running on a Windows Operating System. If a user executes specific NetBackup commands or an attacker uses social engineering techniques to impel the user to execute the commands, a malicious DLL could be loaded, resulting in execution of the attacker's code in the user's security context.

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 · high confidence

This is a DLL hijacking vulnerability in Veritas NetBackup for Windows. Attackers can exploit this by tricking users into executing specific NetBackup commands, which causes the application to load a malicious DLL instead of the legitimate one, resulting in arbitrary code execution within the user's security context.

MitigationUpgrade to NetBackup version 10.5 or later. Educate users about social engineering attacks and avoid executing NetBackup commands from untrusted sources.

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
NetbackupApplication
Affected:< 10.5

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
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/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. Identify NetBackup installation and version
    Check the Windows registry for NetBackup version at HKLM\SOFTWARE\Veritas\NetBackup\CurrentVersion\, or look in Programs and Features for Veritas NetBackup entry
    Affected if Installed version is any version below 10.5 (e.g., 10.4.x, 10.3.x, earlier) or version is not displayed
  2. Locate NetBackup executable directories
    Find NetBackup installation paths (commonly C:\Program Files\Veritas\NetBackup\ or C:\Program Files (x86)\Veritas\NetBackup\) and identify subdirectories containing bin or exe files
    Affected if NetBackup binaries are present and the version is below 10.5
  3. Check for writable locations in DLL search path
    Use icacls or PowerShell to check if standard users have Write or Create permission on NetBackup directories and subdirectories (e.g., icacls 'C:\Program Files\Veritas\NetBackup\bin')
    Affected if Users with low privileges can write to directories where NetBackup loads DLLs
  4. Review recent DLL loading behavior
    Use Sysinternals Process Monitor or check Windows Event Logs for failed DLL loads by NetBackup processes (look for events with 'DLL' and 'failed' in Application logs)
    Affected if NetBackup processes show attempts to load DLLs from non-standard paths or failures occur
  5. Audit running NetBackup services and commands
    List running NetBackup services (Get-Service | Where-Object {$_.DisplayName -like '*NetBackup*'}) and available command-line tools in the bin directory
    Affected if NetBackup services or command-line tools are running and version is below 10.5

The environment is affected if NetBackup version is below 10.5 AND users can write to directories where NetBackup loads DLLs, allowing attackers to place malicious DLLs for hijacking.

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 10.5 or later
Fixed in 10.5
Interim mitigation

Upgrade to NetBackup version 10.5 or later. Educate users about social engineering attacks and avoid executing NetBackup commands from untrusted sources.

Recommended fix High confidence

NetBackup 10.5

  1. Verify current NetBackup version by running 'nbversion.exe' or checking the About section in NetBackup Administration Console
  2. Review the NetBackup 10.5 Release Notes for Windows-specific changes and compatibility requirements
  3. Ensure all NetBackup components (master server, media servers, clients) running on Windows are included in the upgrade plan
  4. Perform a full backup of the NetBackup catalog and configuration before proceeding
  5. Download NetBackup 10.5 or later from Veritas download portal (requires valid support contract)
  6. Apply the upgrade following Veritas installation documentation - run the upgrade installer on all Windows-based NetBackup components
  7. Restart NetBackup services after upgrade completes
  8. Verify the upgrade was successful and NetBackup services are running correctly
Caveat Review NetBackup 10.5 release notes for any deprecated features or compatibility changes with existing backup policies and third-party integrations

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

Fix this in Netbackup Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,200
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,120.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2024-52945 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

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-2024-52945 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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