CVE-2023-46144

mediumpriority · track · 0OT risk · elevatedEPSS 0.003 · 24 %ileDEEUUS
grimoire priorityP3 · Track
Exploitable?
—
no known exploitation
Likely / severe?
0.31% (24th) EPSS
CVSS 6.5 · medium
Is it mine?
28 products
Check your exposure
Who says so?
4 sources
cnnvd · enisa_euvd · nvd · phoenix_contact_psirt

EPSS · scored 2026-10-27

A download of code without integrity check vulnerability in PLCnext products allows an remote attacker with low privileges to compromise integrity on the affected engineering station and the connected devices.

01

remediations

Vendor fix, mitigation, or workaround guidance, as published by each source.

A vendor fix is available.

  • Fixedphoenix_contact_psirt

    PLCnext Control security feature set and hardening are continuously improved. Please check the PLCnext Control product download pages for updated versions and the PSIRT webpage https://phoenixcontact.com/psirt for updated information's and firmware regularly. We recommend that our customers always use the latest LTS versions, as known security vulnerabilities are regularly fixed. The latest version at the time of publication of this advisory is 2023.0.7 LTS Hotfix.

  • Mitigationphoenix_contact_psirt

    PLCnext Control is developed and designed for use in protected industrial networks. In this approach, the production plant is protected against attacks, especially from the outside, by a multi-level perimeter, including firewalls, and by dividing the plant into OT zones using firewalls. This concept is supported by organizational measures in the production facility as part of a security management system. To achieve security, measures are required at all levels. It must be ensured that the application is always transferred or stored in protected environments. This applies to both data in transmission and data at rest. Connections between the engineering tools (PLCnext Engineer) and PLCnext Control must always be in a locally protected environment or, in the case of remote access, protected by VPN. Project data should not be sent as a file via email or other transmission mechanisms without additional integrity and authenticity checks. Project data should only be stored in protected environments. For general information and recommendations on security measures to protect network-enabled devices, refer to the application note:Application note Security PLCnext Control provides a feature set that supports users in setting up a separated protected environment, for example, by using separated Ethernet ports, firewalls, user and certificate management, and integrity checks. These features can reduce the attack surface of this vulnerability. For more information's refer to the PLCnext Info Centers. PLCnext Control provides project data integrity checks, information's about the default configuration are provided in the topic Checking project data integrity.

02

cvss

Technical severity, 0–10. One row per scoring source.

7.7
010

base score 0–10 · higher = more severe · hover a vector to decode⚠ sources disagree · medium–high · 6.5–7.7

v3.16.5mediumCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:Nsecondary · NVD / NIST USexploitability 2.8 · impact 3.6
v3.16.5mediumCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:Nsecondary · ENISA EU
v3.16.5mediumCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:Nsecondary · info@cert.vde.comexploitability 2.8 · impact 3.6
v3.17.7highCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:H/A:Nsecondary · Phoenix Contact PSIRT DE
03

weaknesses

The CWE weakness classes this flaw belongs to.

04

affected products (28)

Products and version ranges known to be affected.

showing 20 of 28
05

advisories (1)

Vendor and ecosystem advisories describing this.

  • VDE-2023-058Phoenix Contact: PLCnext Control prone to download of code without integrity check2023-12-12csaf · phoenix_contact_psirtDE

    PLCnext Control provides authentication and integrity check for the application.An authenticated, skilled attacker might be able to manipulate the application (e.g.: logic files, executable logic, configurations) in a special crafted way that the integrity check will not be able to recognize these tampering attempts which are then difficult to remove. PLCnext Engineer warns users if the PLC logic is different from the current loaded project when Online mode is activated. In addition, during loading an application on the PLC, a Project Integrity Warning logging entry is generated.A skilled attacker might be able to manipulate the application in a special crafted way that the integrity check will not be able to recognize tampering attempts.

06

also known as (3)

Other names and identifiers for this entity.

07

sources

Which sources assert this record, and when.

08

references (5)

External citations — patches, advisories, analysis.

scry

Attackers weaponise vulnerabilities like this against internet-exposed services. See what is exposed on your perimeter with a free passive scan.

Free scan