CVE-2019-7194
CVE-2019-7194 is a security flaw in QNAP Photo Station, a network drive for storing files and backups at home or in a small office. Attackers can read files on QNAP Photo Station that should be out of reach. The US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) added it to its catalog of flaws known to be used in attacks on 8 Jun 2022, and says ransomware gangs have used it.[1]
QNAP Photo Station is in things households have: network drives for files and backups, so the fix matters at home as much as at work. QNAP has published a fix or advice.
Description
CISA calls it a path traversal in QNAP Photo Station. In its words: “QNAP devices running Photo Station contain an external control of file name or path vulnerability allowing remote attackers to access or modify system files.”[1]
The CVE record adds: “This external control of file name or path vulnerability allows remote attackers to access or modify system files. To fix the vulnerability, QNAP recommend updating Photo Station to their latest versions.”[2]
The underlying weakness is path traversal (CWE-22), in MITRE’s list of common software weaknesses.
It scores 9.8 out of 10 on the Common Vulnerability Scoring System, which rates it critical, scored by NVD using CVSS 3.1.[2]
Affected versions
NVD’s record doesn’t list version ranges for it; QNAP’s advisory has them[3]. CISA names the product as QNAP Photo Station.
Every device with QNAP Photo Station needs the update.
Exploitation
CISA added it to its catalog of known exploited vulnerabilities on 8 Jun 2022, 916 days after it was made public. CISA lists a flaw only when it has reliable evidence of it being exploited, and gave US federal agencies until 22 Jun 2022 to fix it.[1] CISA says ransomware gangs have used it.
FIRST’s Exploit Prediction Scoring System, which estimates how likely a flaw is to be used in attacks in the next 30 days from what it sees across the internet, puts it at 83%. That’s in the top 1% of the flaws it scores.[4]
CISA assesses it as automatable: attackers can run it against many targets at once.
CISA doesn’t say who was attacked, or how.
Fix
QNAP has published a fix or advice.[3] CISA’s required action: “Apply updates per vendor instructions.”[1]
- Update QNAP Photo Station now.Install the latest update from QNAP on every device that has it, and restart when asked. Then turn on automatic updates, so the next fix arrives on its own.
- If the maker has stopped updating it, replace it.Network drives stop getting fixes after a few years, and attackers keep a list of the ones that did. If there’s no newer firmware, it won’t be fixed.
Timeline
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| The flaw is made public in the National Vulnerability Database, with a severity score of 9.8.[2] | |
| CISA adds it to its catalog of flaws known to be used in attacks, noting that ransomware gangs have used it.[1] | |
| CISA’s deadline for US government agencies to fix it.[1] | |
| FIRST puts the odds of it being used in attacks in the next 30 days at 83%.[4] |
See also
Other QNAP Photo Station flaws
- CVE-2022-27593: externally controlled reference ·
- CVE-2019-7195: path traversal ·
- CVE-2019-7192: improper access control ·
Other QNAP flaws
- CVE-2023-47565, QNAP VioStor NVR: OS command injection ·
- CVE-2019-7193, QNAP QTS: improper input validation ·
- CVE-2018-19953, QNAP Network Attached Storage (NAS): NAS file station cross-site scripting ·
- CVE-2018-19949, QNAP Network Attached Storage (NAS): NAS file station command injection ·
- CVE-2018-19943, QNAP Network Attached Storage (NAS): NAS file station cross-site scripting ·
Other path traversal flaws
- CVE-2025-61624, Fortinet products: path traversal ·
- CVE-2021-3199, ONLYOFFICE Docs: server path traversal ·
- CVE-2026-104286, Fortinet FortiMail: path traversal ·
- CVE-2026-93616, Check Point products: path traversal ·
- CVE-2026-66384, JFrog Artifactory: improper limitation of a pathname to a restricted directory ·
Added the same day
- CVE-2019-7195, QNAP Photo Station: path traversal ·
- CVE-2019-7193, QNAP QTS: improper input validation ·
- CVE-2019-7192, QNAP Photo Station: improper access control ·
- CVE-2019-5825, Chrome and other Chromium browsers: out-of-bounds write ·
- CVE-2019-15271, Cisco RV Series Routers: deserialization of untrusted data ·
Every QNAP flaw on CISA’s list · Everything added in June 2022
References
- ^ Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. “QNAP Photo Station Path Traversal Vulnerability”. Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog, added 8 Jun 2022.
- ^ National Institute of Standards and Technology. “CVE-2019-7194 Detail”. National Vulnerability Database, published 5 Dec 2019.
- ^ QNAP. Advisories and fixes: qnap.com.
- ^ FIRST. “Exploit Prediction Scoring System”. EPSS 0.827, percentile 99.7, 31 Oct 2026.
- CVE Program. “CVE-2019-7194”. The official CVE record.
This article is built from CISA’s catalog (version 2026.10.30), NVD’s record and FIRST’s scores, kept in HARD’s database and checked every morning. The plain English is HARD’s.