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Threats / Hikvision / CVE-2021-36260
CVE-2021-36260 · EUVD no mirror located · GCVE no mirror located Verified 2026-06-22

Hikvision Security cameras web server vulnerability

Command injection vulnerability in Hikvision security camera web servers due to insufficient input validation. Allows remote code execution on affected devices.

Verdict

Today item — known-exploited.

A command injection flaw (CWE-78) in Hikvision camera web interfaces enables unauthenticated attackers to execute arbitrary system commands. Active exploitation in the wild poses immediate risk to deployed camera infrastructure.

CISA KEV Yes · 2022-01-103EPSS 0.99869 (verify live)4Exploit Weaponized · public PoC5
01

Is it exploitable?

— the evidence, ranked above the score
Exploit available
Fully weaponized — public exploit code is cataloged for this vulnerability.We link the existence of the exploit; we do not host or redistribute payloads.
Reported exploitation
864 independent public reports of in-the-wild exploitation are cataloged.Distinct reporting sources (vendor, incident response, government); open them for the underlying claims.
Exploited in the wild
Listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2022-01-10).
CISA KEV ↗Confirmed
Probability (EPSS)
EPSS 0.99869 — modeled likelihood of exploitation activity.EPSS is a daily-changing model output — open the source for today's value.
Severity / affected
Affected: Hikvision, Security cameras web server. Confirm exact fixed builds in the vendor advisory.
NVD ↗Reported
Weakness (CWE)
Mapped to CWE-78 OS Command Injection — weakness family: Injection.CWE assignment from the public NVD record; the weakness class drives how the flaw is exploited.
NVD ↗Reported
02

Who’s exploiting it?

— attribution turns risk into urgency
Attribution not established

No confirmed (advisory-backed) threat-actor attribution is established for this record. Absence of a named actor is not absence of compromise — see Coverage & confidence.

03

Why it matters

— the attack path, told twice: adversary, then board
1

Front door — unauthenticated access narrative 1

Attacker
I craft malicious input containing shell metacharacters to bypass validation and inject OS commands into the web server process.
Business
Attackers gain direct code execution on security cameras, enabling reconnaissance, lateral network movement, or device compromise at scale.
2

Keys to the kingdom — privilege/identity takeover narrative 2

Attacker
I execute commands to establish persistence, exfiltrate video feeds, or pivot to connected network segments from the compromised camera.
Business
Physical security infrastructure is compromised; surveillance data is stolen and cameras become entry points for broader network intrusion.
3

Lateral reach — past segmentation narrative 3

Attacker
I deploy malware or use the camera as a botnet node for distributed attacks while remaining hidden within trusted security hardware.
Business
Organization's security posture is inverted; trusted devices become attack vectors, increasing liability and incident response complexity.
04

What to do

— defensible action
  • Remediate per the vendor advisory — confirm the fixed build for your version and verify exposure.1
Say it to the boardA vulnerability with this evidence profile is a defensible budget line, not a backlog ticket — fund the change against the proof above.
05

Coverage & confidence

— what we know, and what we don’t

Established (cited)

  • KEV listing (CISA)
  • EPSS probability (FIRST)
  • Weaponized exploit available (VulnCheck)
  • 864 reported-exploitation source(s)
  • CWE weakness mapping (NVD)
  • Public exploit availability
  • Catalogued by hikvision (CNA)
  • Coverage gaps — stated, not hidden

  • No EUVD / GCVE mirror in feed — single-authority dependency for the identifier.
  • EPSS & exposure are time-varying; verify live at the source.
  • Threat-actor attribution not established from feed data — absence of a name is not absence of compromise.
  • No finder/reporter credit recorded in the public CVE entry — the work behind this find is unattributed.
  • Disclosure & credit2
    Catalogued by hikvisionCNA
    Credited with finding itNo finder named in the public CVE record — the work behind this find is unattributed.