Attack ChainAIDerived
Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain
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AccessEnable/abuse unsigned ACAP install mode
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DeliveryDeliver malicious ACAP app to operator
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ExploitVictim installs crafted application
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ExecutionConfig file path traversal escapes sandbox
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ImpactEscalate privileges on Axis device
Vulnerability Assessment
| Weakness |
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A01:2025 - Broken Access Control
ASVS 5.0
V5 - File Handling Path traversal prevention
|
| Exploitation Conditions | Two concrete, non-default prerequisites must both hold: (1) the Axis device must be configured to allow installation of UNSIGNED ACAP applications (signed-only, the default posture, blocks this), and (2) an attacker must convince the victim/operator to install a specially crafted malicious ACAP application whose configuration file carries the path-traversal payload. Limiting factors: exploitation is local (AV:L) and requires existing low-level privileges (PR:L) plus active user interaction (UI:R) to perform the install; there is no network-reachable or unauthenticated path, which substantially narrows realistic exposure to environments that have deliberately relaxed the unsigned-app restriction. |
| Impact | This is a genuinely high-severity but low-urgency, hard-to-exploit issue, and the signals are consistent rather than conflicting. The CVSS 3.1 vector (AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R, 7.3) describes a local, authenticated attack that requires user interaction, not a remotely reachable flaw; the C:H/I:H/A:H impact and the SSVC 'Technical Impact: total' both reflect the privilege-escalation outcome, not ease of access. SSVC further states Exploitation: none and Automatable: no, which aligns with the very low EPSS (0.01%, 3rd percentile) and the absence of any CISA KEV listing. There is no public exploit reference in the supplied data. The practical risk is gated hard by two non-default preconditions (unsigned ACAP installation must be enabled, and a victim must be socially engineered into installing a malicious app), so despite the 'total' technical impact this is a targeted, operator-assisted scenario rather than a mass-exploitable threat. The vuln.today 'this_week' priority is appropriate: patch on a normal cycle, not as an emergency. No key signals conflict; the main caveat is that exploitation mechanism detail beyond 'path traversal in an ACAP configuration file' is not provided. |
| Exploit ScenarioDerived | An attacker crafts a malicious ACAP application whose configuration file contains path-traversal sequences and convinces an operator of an Axis device-one configured to permit unsigned ACAP apps-to install it. On installation the traversal lets the app write or read outside its intended sandbox, escalating from the application's limited privileges to fuller control of the device. No public exploit code is identified in the available sources, and exploitation requires both the non-default unsigned-app setting and successful social engineering. |
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Alert meAnalysisAIv2 – Oct 26, 2026
Path traversal in AXIS OS handling of ACAP application configuration files gives a local attacker holding low-level privileges a route to elevated privileges on the device, with high confidentiality, integrity and availability impact once the traversal succeeds. Exploitation requires two non-default conditions to both hold: the Axis device must be configured to permit installation of unsigned ACAP applications (the shipped default, signed-only, blocks the attack), and the operator must be persuaded to install a malicious ACAP application carrying the crafted configuration. Axis has released a fix in AXIS OS 12.10.4; no public exploit identified at time of analysis, EPSS is 0.01% (3rd percentile), SSVC records exploitation: none and automatable: no, so this is a high-severity but low-urgency issue whose realistic exposure is confined to environments that have deliberately relaxed the unsigned-application restriction.
Earlier versions of this analysis (1)
Privilege escalation in Axis OS via path traversal in ACAP configuration files allows high-privileged local attackers to achieve code execution with elevated permissions. The vulnerability requires the device to be configured for unsigned ACAP application installation and the attacker to socially engineer a user into installing a malicious ACAP application. CVSS 6.7 reflects high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact, but exploitation is constrained by high-privilege requirement and user interaction. No public exploit code or active exploitation has been identified at time of analysis.
RemediationAI
Axis has released a vendor patch: upgrade AXIS OS to 12.10.4 or later, which is the first release outside the affected 12.0.0 <12.10.4 range and closes the configuration-file validation gap; the fix is documented in Axis's advisory at https://www.axis.com/dam/public/51/64/ea/cve-2026-0804pdf-en-US-530732.pdf (mirrored at https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-0804). Because exploitation depends on the device being configured to allow installation of unsigned ACAP applications, keeping or restoring the default signed-only ACAP policy removes the attack precondition entirely, at the cost of blocking legitimate unsigned in-house or development applications until they are signed; this is a workaround, not a substitute for updating. The second precondition - an operator installing a malicious ACAP application - is addressed by only installing applications obtained from trusted sources, noting that this relies on operator behavior and is weaker than either the patch or the signed-only policy. No exploitation has been observed (SSVC exploitation: none) and EPSS is 0.01%, so scheduling the 12.10.4 upgrade in the normal patch window is appropriate rather than emergency change.
Affected VersionsENISA
Affected Packages
Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)
Affects your stack
Affects 1 package in euvd
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Technical ContextAI · show details
ACAP (Axis Camera Application Platform) is Axis's extension framework: third-party applications are packaged and installed onto Axis devices running AXIS OS, and each package carries configuration files that the operating system parses during install and setup. The root cause is classified as CWE-35 (Path Traversal: '.../...//'), meaning the configuration-file input was not sufficiently validated, so path sequences in that input can resolve outside the directory the installer intended to operate in; the resulting file placement/overwrite is what enables privilege escalation from the invoking low-privileged context to a higher-privileged one. The published CVSS 3.1 vector is AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H: the attack is local, requires existing low-level privileges on the device, and requires user interaction to complete the install - there is no network-reachable or unauthenticated path described in the available sources, and the trigger mechanics beyond the unvalidated configuration input are not described in the available sources. The CPE record cpe:2.3:a:axis_communications_ab:axis_os with wildcard version fields identifies AXIS OS as the affected product family, while ENISA EUVD narrows the confirmed range to AXIS OS 12.0.0 up to, but not including, 12.10.4. The vulnerability is bounded by deployment configuration rather than by code path alone: it is only reachable when unsigned ACAP installation has been explicitly enabled, so signed-only devices sit outside the exploitable configuration.
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Severity by source
AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Local, operator-assisted install (AV:L/UI:R) by a low-privileged actor (PR:L); successful traversal yields full device compromise, so C:H/I:H/A:H with unchanged scope.
Primary rating from NVD.
CVSS VectorNVD
Lifecycle Timeline
5DescriptionNVD
An ACAP configuration file lacked sufficient input validation, which could allow a path traversal attack leading to potential privilege escalation. This vulnerability can only be exploited if the Axis device is configured to allow the installation of unsigned ACAP applications, and if an attacker convinces the victim to install a malicious ACAP application.
Executive ViewAI
AXIS OS, the operating system for Axis network cameras and devices, contains a high-severity path traversal vulnerability (CVE-2026-0804) that, under specific non-default conditions, allows a low-privileged local attacker to escalate privileges and compromise device confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The primary risk is confined to organizations that have deliberately enabled unsigned ACAP application installation, a non-default setting; all other deployments are protected by the default signed-only policy. Given the lack of public exploit code and very low EPSS score, immediate business disruption is unlikely, but unpatched devices in relaxed-configuration environments represent a latent insider threat.
Apply vendor patch. Additionally, enforce signed-only ACAP application configuration (the default) on all devices where unsigned installation is not strictly required, and restrict installation privileges to authorized administrators only.
Threat Intelligence Overview
How this decision was reached
The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.
What every action level means
SSVC AssessmentENISA
Priority Score
Attack Technique
Privilege escalation occurs when an attacker leverages flaws in access control mechanisms to gain permissions beyond what they were originally granted.
Path traversal exploits occur when applications use user-controlled input to construct file system paths without proper validation.
Privilege escalation in Axis VAPIX framework.
Privilege escalation vulnerability in Axis Communications' VAPIX Device Configuration framework that allows a local, aut
Code execution with potential privilege escalation in AXIS OS 12.0.0 through 12.10.35 is reachable only after an attacke
A user controlled parameter related to SMTP test functionality is not correctly validated making it possible to add the
During an annual penetration test conducted on behalf of Axis Communication, Truesec discovered a flaw in the ACAP Appli
Sandro Poppi, member of the AXIS OS Bug Bounty Program, has found that the VAPIX API overlay_del.cgi is vulnerable to pa
During an annual penetration test conducted on behalf of Axis Communication, Truesec discovered a flaw in the VAPIX Devi
A user controlled parameter related to SMTP test functionality is not correctly validated making it possible to bypass b
Command injection in the ACAP configuration-file handling of AXIS OS 12.x allows a local, authenticated attacker to esca
Privilege escalation on Axis devices running AXIS OS 12.0.0 through 12.9.31 lets a malicious ACAP (Axis Camera Applicati
Remote code execution via improper input validation in a VAPIX API parameter on Axis OS affects Axis network camera and
GoSecure on behalf of Genetec Inc. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.2), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attac
EUVD-2026-29385
GHSA-wjg9-57qr-c8p4
NVD
CVE.org
EPSS
Vulnrichment
VulDB
Exploit-DB