CVE-2023-2638 Rockwell Automation FactoryTalk System Services Vulnerable to a Denial-of-Service Attack

Medium 5.9 Published 13 Jun 2023 Updated 2 Jan 2025

A local authenticated user can load malicious configuration archives due to missing password verification, potentially causing denial of service or data modification.

Exploited in the wild: Not known
Login needed: Any signed-in user
Attackable: Local or same network only
Victim action needed: A user has to click or open something
Fix: None listed

What is CVE-2023-2638?

CVE-2023-2638 is a medium-severity missing authorization vulnerability in Rockwell Automation FactoryTalk System Services, published on 13 Jun 2023. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

Official description

Rockwell Automation's FactoryTalk System Services does not verify that a backup configuration archive is password protected.

Improper authorization in FTSSBackupRestore.exe may lead to the loading of malicious configuration archives. This vulnerability may allow a local, authenticated non-admin user to craft a malicious backup archive, without password protection, that will be loaded by FactoryTalk System Services as a valid backup when a restore procedure takes places. User interaction is required for this vulnerability to be successfully exploited.

Weakness: CWE-287

Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-2638?

It affects 2 products.

Products include Rockwellautomation Factorytalk Policy Manager, Rockwellautomation Factorytalk System Services.

How do I fix CVE-2023-2638?

No fix has been published for CVE-2023-2638 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

Upgrade, and check permissions on every request on the server, not only in the interface. More about Missing authorization.

Is CVE-2023-2638 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-2638 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Sources

Also known as GHSA-7j8r-p4gv-87r9.