# CVE-2021-28797: Stack Buffer Overflow in Surveillance Station

> Attackers can execute arbitrary code on QNAP NAS devices via a stack buffer overflow in Surveillance Station.

- **Severity:** Critical 9.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 14 Apr 2021
- **Updated:** 17 Sep 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-w8vr-fx3m-jhr5

## What is CVE-2021-28797?

CVE-2021-28797 is a critical memory corruption vulnerability in QNAP Systems Inc. Surveillance Station, published on 14 Apr 2021. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

A stack-based buffer overflow vulnerability has been reported to affect QNAP NAS devices running Surveillance Station. If exploited, this vulnerability allows attackers to execute arbitrary code. QNAP have already fixed this vulnerability in the following versions: Surveillance Station 5.1.5.4.3 (and later) for ARM CPU NAS (64bit OS) and x86 CPU NAS (64bit OS) Surveillance Station 5.1.5.3.3 (and later) for ARM CPU NAS (32bit OS) and x86 CPU NAS (32bit OS)

Weakness: CWE-787 (Out-of-bounds Write), CWE-121 (Stack-based Buffer Overflow)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-28797?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Qnap Surveillance Station.

## How do I fix CVE-2021-28797?

No fix has been published for CVE-2021-28797 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2021-28797 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-28797 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in QNAP Systems Inc. Surveillance Station

- [CVE-2020-2501](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-2501/): Stack Buffer Overflow in Surveillance Station (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2021-38687](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-38687/): Stack Overflow Vulnerability in Surveillance Station (high 8.1)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2021-28797 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2021-28797 is a critical memory corruption vulnerability in QNAP Systems Inc. Surveillance Station, published on 14 Apr 2021. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-28797 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: QNAP Systems Inc. Surveillance Station. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-28797/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-28797/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-28797
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-28797
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2021-28797

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-28797/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.