CriticalCVE-2022-31199

    Netwrix Auditor Insecure Object Deserialization Vulnerability (CVE-2022-31199)

    Published In CISA KEV since Sources: CVE.org, pwn.watch

    What is affected, what to do

    Remote code execution vulnerabilities exist in the Netwrix Auditor User Activity Video Recording component affecting both the Netwrix Auditor server and agents installed on monitored systems. The remote code execution vulnerabilities exist within the underlying protocol used by the component, and potentially allow an unauthenticated remote attacker to execute arbitrary code as the NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM user on affected systems, including on systems Netwrix Auditor monitors.

    The vulnerability is being actively exploited; treat it as a priority. CISA lists it as used in ransomware campaigns. Update Netwrix Auditor to version 10.5. Immediate actions, mitigation and detection rules are in the runbook below.

    Affected
    • Netwrix Auditor lt *..10.5
    Fixed in
    • Netwrix Auditor 10.5

    Not sure whether and how you are affected? Ask a question about this vulnerability

    Metrics

    9.8

    Priority

    XIEM Effective CVSS: highest available CVSS rating from NVD and vendor data.

    Source: NVD, CVSS v3

    9.8

    CVSS v3

    Severity Critical on the scale from 0 to 10.

    Source: CVE.org, pwn.watch

    36.0 %

    EPSS score

    Elevated — model estimates 10-50% exploitation likelihood.

    Source: FIRST EPSS, percentile 98.5

    Show all metrics
    Severity
    Critical
    Priority (0–325)

    The priority score is a consolidated metric that condenses several individual signals into a single, action-guiding ranking: technical severity (CVSS), exploitation likelihood (EPSS), known-exploited status (KEV) and the context of the affected asset. The aim is to answer the only truly important question in vulnerability management: what first?

    Read in glossary
    253.24 Methodology
    Exploit maturity

    An exploit is code or a technique that specifically uses a concrete vulnerability to force unintended behaviour — such as executing code or escalating privileges. It is the tool that turns a theoretical flaw into a practical attack.

    Read in glossary
    actively exploited
    XIEM Effective CVSS

    XIEM® is the tiered managed-security operating model from NEOSEC and a registered trademark of NEOSEC GmbH. It extends classic SIEM — the central collection, normalisation and correlation of security-relevant events — with endpoint forensics, network visibility and deception technology, and consolidates them into three building tiers: Sentry, Orchestrate and Command.

    Read in glossary
    9.8 Methodology
    CVSS v3

    CVSS is the globally established, open standard for assessing the technical severity of a vulnerability on a scale from 0 to 10. It describes how easily a flaw can be exploited and what damage it can cause — but not how likely its actual exploitation is. CVSS and the complementary EPSS deliberately answer different questions.

    Read in glossary
    9.8
    EPSS score

    The EPSS score is the absolute model output for an individual vulnerability: the estimated probability of real-world exploitation within the next 30 days, expressed as a value between 0 and 1 (i.e. 0 % to 100 %). A score of 0.42 means „the model estimates a 42 % chance of real-world exploitation within 30 days“.

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    36.0 %
    Elevated — model estimates 10-50% exploitation likelihood.
    EPSS percentile

    The EPSS percentile is the relative position of a vulnerability within all EPSS-scored CVEs, expressed as a value between 0 and 1. A percentile of 0.90 means „this CVE has a higher EPSS score than 90 % of all other scored CVEs“. Unlike the EPSS score, it is not a probability — but a positioning within a ranking.

    Read in glossary
    98.5
    Critical — this CVE ranks in the top fifth of all CVEs scored today (rank ≥ 80%).
    KEV status

    The KEV catalogue is a list maintained by the US authority CISA of vulnerabilities for which active exploitation in the wild has been confirmed. It answers not the question „how severe?“ but „is it already being attacked?“ — thereby sharply prioritising patching.

    Read in glossary
    Actively exploited
    Published
    In CISA KEV since

    The KEV catalogue is a list maintained by the US authority CISA of vulnerabilities for which active exploitation in the wild has been confirmed. It answers not the question „how severe?“ but „is it already being attacked?“ — thereby sharply prioritising patching.

    Read in glossary

    Response and mitigation

    Why act now?

    Prioritisation rationale

    This flaw is network-reachable without authentication or user interaction and yields immediate SYSTEM-level code execution. Exploitation likelihood is very high, and CISA flags known use in ransomware campaigns. In practice, attackers use it after initial access for lateral movement: Netwrix agents are spread widely across servers, and Auditor service accounts frequently hold extensive AD privileges. Treat it as critical with same-day action wherever the internal network is flat or 9004/TCP is broadly reachable. Even where 9004 is demonstrably locked down, patch in the next emergency window rather than the regular cycle.

    1. Runbook step 1

      Immediate response (0-24 h)

      • Inventory: Identify every Netwrix Auditor server and every monitored system running the User Activity Video Recording (UAVR) agent. The context lists Netwrix Auditor 10.5 as affected. Agents on monitored hosts are explicitly in scope, not just the server.
      • Patch: A patch is available from the vendor — look up the fixed version in the Netwrix advisory. Update both the server and all UAVR agents, then verify the build on each agent. A single stale agent remains an RCE foothold.
      • Block 9004/TCP now: Block inbound 9004/TCP at host firewalls and network boundaries. Permit only the required server-to-agent flows, and remove any exposure from the internet, guest or VPN segments. Validate the exposure with a scan (e.g. nmap -p 9004 --open <range>).
      • Disable UAVR where unused: If you cannot patch today and video recording is not business-critical, stop and disable the UAVR component and service on the server and agents.
      • Compromise check and credential rotation: Netwrix Auditor usually runs with highly privileged service and data-collection accounts, often with broad AD, Exchange or file-server access. If exploitation is suspected, rotate these accounts and the local admin passwords on affected hosts (LAPS).

    2. Runbook step 2

      Mitigation layers

      • Network segmentation: Place the Auditor server in a management segment. Allowlist 9004/TCP strictly between the agent IP ranges and the server IP, and deny 9004 east-west between workstations or member servers.
      • IPS signature: UAVR uses .NET Remoting. A Suricata rule can flag TCP payloads to port 9004 that start with the .NET remoting preamble (content:"|2E 4E 45 54|"; depth:4;). Combine it with deserialization gadget strings such as ObjectDataProvider, TypeConfuseDelegate or System.Windows.Data, and drop traffic from non-allowlisted sources.
      • Endpoint hardening: Use EDR or ASR rules to prevent the Netwrix UAVR service process from spawning cmd.exe, powershell.exe, rundll32.exe or mshta.exe. Apply WDAC or AppLocker on Auditor servers to block dropped payloads.
      • IAM / least privilege: Review the Netwrix service and collection accounts and remove excess rights (no Domain Admin). Deny interactive and RDP logon for these accounts via GPO.
      • Configuration: Enable UAVR recording only on hosts with a documented need. This minimises the number of listening agents.

    3. Runbook step 3

      Detection rules

      • Process ancestry (Sysmon EID 1 / Security 4688): Watch for child processes of the Netwrix UAVR or Auditor services. KQL: DeviceProcessEvents | where InitiatingProcessFolderPath has "Netwrix" and FileName in~ ("cmd.exe","powershell.exe","rundll32.exe","certutil.exe","bitsadmin.exe"). Treat any hit as critical, since these children run as SYSTEM.
      • Network telemetry (Zeek conn.log / Sysmon EID 3 / firewall logs): Alert on inbound 9004/TCP from sources outside the server/agent allowlist (Zeek: id.resp_p == 9004 and id.orig_h !in allowlist). Also alert on new outbound connections from the Auditor server to unknown external destinations.
      • Persistence and privilege escalation: On Auditor servers and agent hosts, monitor service installs (System 7045, Security 4697), new local accounts (4720), group changes (4732) and scheduled tasks (4698).
      • Credential access: Alert on lsass.exe access (Sysmon EID 10) where the source is in the Netwrix path or one of its children. Also alert on Netwrix service-account logons from atypical hosts (4624, logon type 3/10).
      • Sigma shape: logsource: windows/process_creation, selection: ParentImage|contains: '\Netwrix', filter: Image|endswith: (known Netwrix binaries), condition: selection and not filter, level: high.

    Detection rules

    No NEOSEC detection rule is available for this vulnerability yet.

    Classification under NIS2 and CRA

    Rule-based classification from exploitation status and severity. It does not replace a case-by-case assessment.

    NIS2

    NIS2 is EU Directive (EU) 2022/2555 to raise the level of cybersecurity across the Union. It substantially broadens obligations compared with the first NIS directive: more sectors, mandatory risk management, staged reporting duties and personal accountability of senior management.

    Read in glossary
    Actively exploited: treat the vulnerability as a priority in vulnerability handling under Art. 21(2)(e) NIS2. If it is exploited in your environment, check the reporting obligation under Art. 23 (early warning within 24 hours).
    CRA

    The CRA is EU Regulation (EU) 2024/2847 setting horizontal cybersecurity requirements for „products with digital elements“ — from industrial controllers and software to connected consumer devices. For the first time manufacturers must ensure security across the entire product lifecycle, handle vulnerabilities and provide security updates.

    Read in glossary
    Since 11.09.2026, manufacturers of affected products with digital elements must report actively exploited vulnerabilities under Art. 14 CRA, with an early warning within 24 hours via ENISA's single reporting platform.
    ISO/IEC 27001

    ISO/IEC 27001 is the internationally leading standard for an information security management system (ISMS). It describes a risk-based, process-oriented framework to systematically plan, implement, review and improve information security.

    Read in glossary
    Control A.8.8, management of technical vulnerabilities: assess relevance to your systems, plan remediation and keep evidence.

    Description

    Remote code execution vulnerabilities exist in the Netwrix Auditor User Activity Video Recording component affecting both the Netwrix Auditor server and agents installed on monitored systems. The remote code execution vulnerabilities exist within the underlying protocol used by the component, and potentially allow an unauthenticated remote attacker to execute arbitrary code as the NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM user on affected systems, including on systems Netwrix Auditor monitors.

    Source: cvelistv5, pwn.watch, NVD (NIST), CISA KEV Catalog, CVE.org (MITRE)

    Affected products

    The following versions are affected. Older releases of the same product line are also vulnerable unless stated otherwise.

    Affected products
    Affected versionsFixed in
    netwrixauditor
    • < 10.5
    • 10.5

    Vendors and products

    Public exploit references

    Publicly reported proof-of-concepts, exploit modules and detection templates for this vulnerability. NEOSEC links to the original sources only and does not provide any exploit code.

    Public exploit references
    CISA KEV CatalogCISA Known Exploited Vulnerability (opens in a new tab)cisa.govactively exploited

    References & sources

    • bishopfox.comblog/netwrix-auditor-advisoryExploit, Third-party advisory
    • cisa.govknown-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2022-31199government-resource, US government resource
    • pwn.watchpwn.watch: Netwrix Auditor: Insecure Object Deserialization (CVE-2022-31199)pwn-watch
    • NVD (NIST)NVD: CVE-2022-31199pwn-watch
    • cisa.govCISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalogpwn-watch
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