CVE-2026-12264

Executive Summary

CVE-2026-12264 is an arbitrary file write vulnerability in Zohocorp ManageEngine DDI Central versions prior to 6201, exploitable through the High Availability (HA) Failover configuration synchronization upload mechanism. A remote attacker with low-privileged authenticated access can write arbitrary files to the underlying system, which can be leveraged to achieve remote code execution. The flaw carries a CVSS v3.1 base score of 8.8, reflecting high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact with network-reachable, low-complexity exploitation requiring only low privileges.

Technical Analysis

ManageEngine DDI Central is a commercial IP address management (IPAM), DHCP, and DNS management platform. The vulnerability resides in the High Availability (HA) Failover configuration synchronization feature. In a DDI Central deployment, HA functionality synchronizes configuration data between a primary and standby/secondary node to maintain service continuity during failover events.

According to the NVD description, the flaw allows "Arbitrary file write via HA Failover Config sync upload." This indicates that the configuration synchronization upload function fails to properly validate or restrict the destination path and/or content of files supplied during a sync operation. An attacker who can reach the HA config sync upload interface — and who holds low-privileged credentials — can supply crafted content that is written to an arbitrary location on the filesystem rather than being confined to the intended configuration directory.

The root vulnerability class is an unrestricted/arbitrary file write (typically categorized under CWE-434, Unrestricted Upload of File with Dangerous Type, or related file-handling weaknesses such as path traversal combined with insufficient input validation). Because the write is arbitrary with respect to path, an attacker can target locations that are subsequently executed or interpreted by the application or the operating system. This is the mechanism that escalates a file write into remote code execution (RCE). The CVSS vector (AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H) confirms network exploitability, low attack complexity, low privileges required, no user interaction, and full impact across confidentiality, integrity, and availability.

The exact internal parameters, endpoint names, file paths, and validation routines involved are not disclosed in the available NVD description or CNA title. As a result, the specific code-level implementation details cannot be stated with confidence and are not fabricated here. What is technically certain from the description is: (1) the entry point is the HA Failover configuration synchronization upload feature, (2) the flaw class is arbitrary file write, and (3) the outcome is remote code execution. The HA sync surface is notable because such inter-node synchronization endpoints are frequently reachable on the network, accept bulk data uploads by design, and may be governed by weaker trust assumptions than primary management interfaces — making them attractive attack surface.

Exploitation Scenarios

No public proof-of-concept, exploit code, or Nuclei template is available for this CVE. The attack chain below is inferred strictly from the vulnerability class (arbitrary file write leading to RCE) and the affected feature (HA Failover Config sync upload) as described in the NVD entry. No specific endpoint paths, parameter names, or filenames are invented.

1. Reconnaissance / Target Identification: An attacker identifies internet- or network-exposed ManageEngine DDI Central instances running a version below 6201. Exposed HA synchronization interfaces or management consoles are the primary targets. Fingerprinting is possible via product banners, login pages, and HTTP response characteristics associated with the ManageEngine DDI Central product line.

2. Access and Triggering the Flaw: The attacker requires low-privileged authenticated access (PR:L). Once authenticated, the attacker interacts with the HA Failover configuration synchronization upload function. The vulnerability-class mechanism is that the upload does not adequately constrain the write path and/or content of the synchronized configuration data, allowing the attacker to direct a file write to an arbitrary location on the server filesystem. This corresponds to an unrestricted file write / dangerous file upload weakness.

3. Payload / Execution Method (vulnerability-class level): The attacker writes crafted file content to a filesystem location that the application or underlying runtime will subsequently load, include, or execute. Because the write path is arbitrary, the attacker targets a location capable of yielding code execution — for example, a path served or interpreted by the application stack. The precise target location is not disclosed and is therefore not specified here. The general principle is that arbitrary file write becomes RCE when the written file is later executed by the host or application.

4. Post-Exploitation Impact: With successful code execution, the attacker operates in the context of the DDI Central service account. Given the CVSS impact subscore (C:H/I:H/A:H), consequences include full compromise of confidentiality (access to configuration data, credentials, DNS/DHCP/IPAM records), integrity (arbitrary modification of records and system files), and availability (service disruption or destruction). Because DDI Central manages DNS and DHCP infrastructure, compromise can have downstream effects on the network estate it administers.

Impact Assessment

Successful exploitation yields remote code execution on the DDI Central host with high impact to confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The CVSS v3.1 base score of 8.8 is driven by: network attack vector (AV:N), low attack complexity (AC:L), low privileges required (PR:L), no user interaction (UI:N), scope unchanged (S:U), and uniformly high C/I/A impact (C:H/I:H/A:H).

Business impact is elevated because DDI Central is a core network services management platform: it administers DNS, DHCP, and IP address management. A compromised DDI Central node can be abused to manipulate DNS responses (enabling redirection, phishing, or man-in-the-middle positioning), poison DHCP configuration, and alter IPAM records — effectively granting an attacker a foothold over the network's name resolution and address allocation control plane. The blast radius extends beyond the single appliance to every host and service that relies on the DNS/DHCP infrastructure it manages. Arbitrary code execution also enables lateral movement, credential harvesting from configuration data, and persistent access. The HA context compounds risk: a compromise of one node may propagate to its Failover peer through the synchronization mechanism itself.

No EPSS score is available (not yet scored by FIRST.org), and the CVE is not listed in CISA KEV. There is currently no known exploit-in-the-wild evidence or attributed threat actor campaign associated with this CVE in the provided data.

Detection Guidance

Sigma Rule

title: Suspicious File Upload to ManageEngine DDI Central HA Failover Config Sync
id: 8f3c1b62-9a4d-4e77-b0e2-cve202612264
status: experimental
description: Detects file creation/modification events consistent with abuse of the HA Failover configuration sync upload in ManageEngine DDI Central versions < 6201, which can lead to arbitrary file write and RCE.
references:
  - https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-12264
author: valtersit.com
date: 2026/01/01
logsource:
  category: file_event
  product: windows
detection:
  selection_process:
    Image|endswith:
      - '\java.exe'
  selection_path:
    TargetFilename|contains:
      - 'DDI'
      - 'ManageEngine'
      - 'HA'
      - 'Failover'
  selection_ext:
    TargetFilename|endswith:
      - '.jsp'
      - '.jspx'
      - '.war'
      - '.jar'
      - '.sh'
      - '.bat'
      - '.py'
  condition: selection_process and selection_path and selection_ext
falsepositives:
  - Legitimate application updates or deployments that write executable files within the ManageEngine installation directory
level: high
tags:
  - attack.t1190
  - attack.persistence
  - cve.2026.12264

YARA Rule

rule CVE_2026_12264_ManageEngine_DDI_Arbitrary_File_Write
{
    meta:
        description = "Detects artifacts consistent with arbitrary file write via ManageEngine DDI Central HA Failover config sync upload (CVE-2026-12264)"
        author = "valtersit.com"
        date = "2026-01-01"
        reference = "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-12264"
        severity = "high"

    strings:
        $me1 = "ManageEngine" ascii wide nocase
        $me2 = "DDI Central" ascii wide nocase
        $ha1 = "Failover" ascii wide nocase
        $ha2 = "HA Config" ascii wide nocase
        $sync = "config sync" ascii wide nocase
        $up = "upload" ascii wide nocase

    condition:
        (uint16(0) == 0x4D5A or uint32(0) == 0x464C457F or $me1) and
        any of ($ha*) and
        $sync and
        $up
}

Suricata IDS Rule

alert http any any -> any any (msg:"CVE-2026-12264 ManageEngine DDI Central HA Failover Config Sync Arbitrary File Write Attempt"; flow:established,to_server; http.method; content:"POST"; http.uri; content:"Failover"; nocase; http.uri; content:"sync"; nocase; http.uri; content:"config"; nocase; http.request_body; content:"filename="; nocase; http.request_body; content:".jsp"; nocase; sid:202612264; rev:1; reference:cve,2026-12264; reference:url,nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-12264; classtype:web-application-attack; metadata:service http;)

Elastic Detection

file where process.name == "java" and
  file.path : ("*ManageEngine*" or "*DDI*") and
  file.extension : (".jsp", ".jspx", ".war", ".jar") and
  event.action : ("creation", "modification")

Splunk SPL Query

index=web OR index=proxy
| search (uri_path="*Failover*" OR uri_path="*sync*" OR uri_path="*config*")
| where (http_method="POST")
| rex field=uri_path "(?<syncpath>/[^?]*sync[^?]*)"
| search (request_body="*filename=*" AND (request_body="*.jsp*" OR request_body="*.war*" OR request_body="*.jar*" OR request_body="*.sh*"))
| stats count min(_time) as first_seen max(_time) as last_seen by src_ip, dest_ip, uri_path, http_method
| where count > 0
| sort - count

Wazuh OSSEC Rule

<group name="web,manageengine,ddi,cve-2026-12264,">
  <rule id="100264" level="12">
    <if_sid>31100,31101,31103,31104</if_sid>
    <decoded_as>web-accesslog</decoded_as>
    <url>\.(jsp|jspx|war|jar|sh)$</url>
    <description>Possible CVE-2026-12264 ManageEngine DDI Central HA Failover config sync arbitrary file write exploitation attempt</description>
    <mitre>
      <id>T1190</id>
    </mitre>
    <group>cve_2026_12264,web_attack,</group>
  </rule>
</group>

Mitigation & Patch Guidance

Patch confidence: 0/4 — UNPATCHED. No patch evidence was identified from any tracked source, and no vendor fix or workaround is currently documented in the provided data.

1. Immediate Mitigations:

• Restrict network access to ManageEngine DDI Central management and HA Failover synchronization interfaces. Bind these interfaces to trusted management networks/VLANs and block exposure to the public internet.
• Enforce the principle of least privilege: audit and minimize accounts with access to the HA Failover configuration sync feature, since the vulnerability requires only low privileges (PR:L).
• Where HA synchronization is not operationally required, disable it to remove the exposed attack surface.
• Monitor file creation and modification events within the ManageEngine installation and application directories, and alert on writes of executable/scriptable file types (see Detection Guidance).
• Apply network segmentation and egress filtering to limit post-exploitation lateral movement and command-and-control in the event of compromise.

2. Patch / Upgrade Steps:

• The NVD description states the fix boundary is version 6201. Immediately plan an upgrade of ManageEngine DDI Central to version 6201 or later. Until a vendor advisory confirming the fix is obtained, validate the version boundary directly against Zohocorp/ManageEngine documentation and release notes.
• Because patch confidence is 0/4 and no vendor-sourced patch metadata is available in this dataset, administrators should independently verify the availability and integrity of the 6201 (or later) release through official ManageEngine channels before deployment.
• Test upgrades in a non-production environment and back up configuration and DNS/DHCP/IPAM data prior to applying updates.

3. Long-Term Hardening:

• Maintain a disciplined patch management cadence for network infrastructure and management appliances, prioritizing internet-adjacent and control-plane systems.
• Adopt a zero-trust posture for management interfaces: strong authentication, MFA where supported, and role-based access control.
• Deploy file integrity monitoring (FIM) on DDI Central hosts to detect unauthorized changes to application directories.
• Continuously inventory DNS/DHCP/IPAM infrastructure and validate that HA synchronization endpoints are only reachable by intended peer nodes.
• Subscribe to ManageEngine security advisories and NVD updates for this CVE to obtain authenticated patch guidance as it becomes available.

References

1. NVD — CVE-2026-12264: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-12264
2. ManageEngine (Zohocorp) Security Advisories: https://www.manageengine.com/security/advisories.html
3. ManageEngine DDI Central Product Documentation: https://www.manageengine.com/ddi-central/
4. CWE-434 — Unrestricted Upload of File with Dangerous Type: https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/434.html
5. MITRE ATT&CK T1190 — Exploit Public-Facing Application: https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1190/

Note: No threat actor campaigns or exploit-in-the-wild evidence are associated with CVE-2026-12264 in the provided intelligence data. The CVE is not listed in CISA KEV, has no public PoC or exploit code, and has no Nuclei template at the time of this report.