CVE-2022-44747 is a local privilege escalation vulnerability identified in Acronis Cyber Protect Home Office for Windows versions prior to build 40107. The root cause of this vulnerability lies in improper handling of symbolic links (soft links), classified under CWE-610 (Improper Restriction of Symbolic Links in a File System). This flaw allows a local attacker with limited privileges to exploit the way the software processes symbolic links, potentially escalating their privileges on the affected system. Specifically, the vulnerability arises because the application does not adequately verify or restrict symbolic link targets during certain file operations, which can be manipulated by an attacker to gain higher-level access. The CVSS v3.0 base score is 2.2, indicating a low severity level, with the vector string CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N. This means the attack requires local access (AV:L), high attack complexity (AC:H), low privileges (PR:L), and user interaction (UI:R). The impact is limited to a minor confidentiality breach (C:L), with no impact on integrity or availability. There are no known exploits in the wild, and no official patches or mitigation links were provided at the time of publication. The vulnerability affects only Windows installations of Acronis Cyber Protect Home Office, a consumer and small business backup and cybersecurity product. The improper symbolic link handling could allow an attacker to read sensitive information or gain limited elevated access, but does not enable full system compromise or denial of service.

For European organizations, the impact of CVE-2022-44747 is relatively limited due to its low severity and the requirement for local access and user interaction. However, organizations using Acronis Cyber Protect Home Office on Windows endpoints should be aware that this vulnerability could allow a local attacker—such as an insider or someone with physical or remote desktop access—to escalate privileges slightly beyond their current level. This could potentially lead to unauthorized access to sensitive backup data or configuration files, undermining confidentiality. While the vulnerability does not directly affect integrity or availability, any unauthorized access to backup data could have downstream effects on data protection and recovery processes. The risk is higher in environments where endpoint security is lax, or where multiple users share systems without strict access controls. Since Acronis Cyber Protect Home Office is primarily targeted at home users and small businesses, the direct impact on large enterprise environments may be limited unless these products are used in smaller subsidiaries or remote offices. Nonetheless, the presence of this vulnerability highlights the importance of securing backup solutions, which are critical for data resilience in European organizations.

To mitigate CVE-2022-44747, European organizations should take the following specific actions: 1) Upgrade Acronis Cyber Protect Home Office to build 40107 or later as soon as an official patch or update is released by Acronis. 2) Until a patch is available, restrict local user permissions on Windows systems to prevent untrusted users from installing or running backup software or creating symbolic links in directories monitored by Acronis. 3) Implement strict endpoint security policies that limit local administrative privileges and monitor for suspicious symbolic link creation or manipulation activities. 4) Employ application whitelisting and endpoint detection and response (EDR) tools to detect anomalous behavior related to privilege escalation attempts. 5) Educate users about the risks of social engineering or phishing that could lead to user interaction required to exploit this vulnerability. 6) Regularly audit backup software configurations and logs to detect unauthorized access or changes. 7) Consider isolating backup systems from general user environments to reduce the attack surface. These targeted measures go beyond generic advice by focusing on controlling symbolic link creation, local privilege restrictions, and monitoring specific to the nature of this vulnerability.