# CVE-2023-43776: Weak encoding vulnerability in easyE4

> Attackers can bypass device password protection by exploiting weak encoding in exported program files, potentially gaining unauthorized access to the PLC.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:P/AC:H/PR:H/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** An administrator
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 17 Oct 2023
- **Updated:** 13 Sep 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-35hg-f9qq-236g

## What is CVE-2023-43776?

CVE-2023-43776 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Eaton easyE4, published on 17 Oct 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

Eaton easyE4 PLC offers a device password protection functionality to facilitate a secure connection and prevent unauthorized access. It was observed that the device password was stored with a weak encoding algorithm in the easyE4 program file when exported to SD card (*.PRG file ending).

Weakness: CWE-326 (Inadequate Encryption Strength), CWE-261 (Weak Encoding for Password)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-43776?

It affects 22 products.


Products: Eaton Easy-Box-E4-Ac1 Firmware, Eaton Easy-Box-E4-Dc1 Firmware, Eaton Easy-Box-E4-Uc1 Firmware, Eaton Easy-E4-Ac-12rc1p Firmware, Eaton Easy-E4-Ac-12rcx1p Firmware, Eaton Easy-E4-Ac-16re1p Firmware, Eaton Easy-E4-Dc-12tc1p Firmware, Eaton Easy-E4-Dc-12tcx1p Firmware, Eaton Easy-E4-Dc-16te1p Firmware, Eaton Easy-E4-Dc-4pe1p Firmware, Eaton Easy-E4-Dc-6ae1p Firmware, Eaton Easy-E4-Dc-8te1p Firmware, Eaton Easy-E4-Uc-12rc1p Firmware, Eaton Easy-E4-Uc-12rcx1p Firmware, Eaton Easy-E4-Uc-16re1 Firmware, Eaton Easy-E4-Uc-16re1p Firmware, Eaton Easy-E4-Uc-8re1p Firmware, Eaton Easy E4-Ac-8re1p Firmware, Eaton Xv-102-A035tqrb-1e4 Firmware, Eaton Xv-102-A3-57tvrb-1e4 Firmware and 2 more.

## How do I fix CVE-2023-43776?

No fix has been published for CVE-2023-43776 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2023-43776 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-43776 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2023-43776 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-43776 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Eaton easyE4, published on 17 Oct 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.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-43776 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Eaton easyE4. 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-2023-43776/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-43776/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-43776
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-43776
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-43776

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-43776/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.