# CVE-2020-10640: ICSA-20-140-02 Emerson OpenEnterprise

> Attackers can execute arbitrary commands with system privileges due to missing authentication in a communication service.

- **Severity:** Critical 10.0 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/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:** 24 Feb 2022
- **Updated:** 16 Apr 2025
- **Also known as:** GHSA-xgxc-757p-24w9

## What is CVE-2020-10640?

CVE-2020-10640 is a critical missing authorization vulnerability in Emerson OpenEnterprise SCADA Software, published on 24 Feb 2022. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Emerson OpenEnterprise versions through 3.3.4 may allow an attacker to run an arbitrary commands with system privileges or perform remote code execution via a specific communication service.

Weakness: CWE-306 (Missing Authentication for Critical Functionality)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2020-10640?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Emerson Openenterprise Scada Server.

## How do I fix CVE-2020-10640?

No fix has been published for CVE-2020-10640 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2020-10640 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2020-10640 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Emerson OpenEnterprise SCADA Software

- [CVE-2020-6970](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-6970/): Memory corruption in OpenEnterprise (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2020-10632](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-10632/): ICSA-20-140-02 Emerson OpenEnterprise (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2020-10636](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-10636/): ICSA-20-140-02 Emerson OpenEnterprise (medium 6.5)
- [CVE-2020-16235](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-16235/): Emerson OpenEnterprise - Inadequate Encryption Strength (low 3.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2020-10640 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2020-10640 is a critical missing authorization vulnerability in Emerson OpenEnterprise SCADA Software, published on 24 Feb 2022. 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-2020-10640 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Emerson OpenEnterprise SCADA Software. 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-2020-10640/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-10640/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-10640
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-10640
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2020-10640

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-10640/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.