CVE-2024-28286VulnerabilityPublished 20 Mar 2024Updated 5 Aug 2024

CVE-2024-28286: libiec61850 · n/a

Affects libiec61850Source CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 7.5 High.

Data as of 25 Oct 2026, 19:02 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

7.5High

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

EPSS: 0.7% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 54% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Attack Vector: Network
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: None
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality: None
Integrity: None
Availability: High

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Network: The vulnerable component is bound to the network stack and the set of possible attackers extends beyond the other options listed, up to and including the entire Internet. Such a vulnerability is often termed 'remotely exploitable' and can be thought of as an attack being exploitable at the protocol level one or more network hops away (e.g., across one or more routers).
Attack Complexity: Low: Specialized access conditions or extenuating circumstances do not exist. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable component.
Privileges Required: None: The attacker is unauthorized prior to attack, and therefore does not require any access to settings or files to carry out an attack.
User Interaction: None: The vulnerable system can be exploited without any interaction from any user.
Scope: Unchanged: An exploited vulnerability can only affect resources managed by the same security authority. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are either the same, or both are managed by the same security authority.
Confidentiality: None: There is no loss of confidentiality within the impacted component.
Integrity: None: There is no loss of integrity within the impacted component.
Availability: High: There is total loss of availability, resulting in the attacker being able to fully deny access to resources in the impacted component; this loss is either sustained (while the attacker continues to deliver the attack) or persistent (the condition persists even after the attack has completed). Alternatively, the attacker has the ability to deny some availability, but the loss of availability presents a direct, serious consequence to the impacted component (e.g., the attacker cannot disrupt existing connections, but can prevent new connections; the attacker can repeatedly exploit a vulnerability that, in each instance of a successful attack, leaks a only small amount of memory, but after repeated exploitation causes a service to become completely unavailable).

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 20 Mar 2024
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 2026-10-25.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponised: Public exploit code exists in Metasploit or Exploit-DB, or CISA SSVC reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
GitHubmz-automation/libiec61850`pkg:github/mz-automation/libiec61850`Other threats	Affected =1.4.0	Fixed in–

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AI-suggested

Given the absence of official patches, organizations should implement the following mitigations: 1) Restrict network access to systems running mz-automation libiec61850 to trusted and monitored segments, employing network segmentation and firewall rules to limit exposure to untrusted networks. 2) Deploy intrusion detection/prevention systems (IDS/IPS) with signatures or anomaly detection tailored to IEC 61850 traffic to identify and block suspicious file close requests that could trigger the vulnerability. 3) Monitor application logs and system stability closely for signs of crashes or abnormal behavior related to MMS file service operations. 4) Engage with the vendor or open-source maintainers to obtain updates or patches as soon as they become available. 5) Consider temporary workarounds such as disabling or limiting the use of the vulnerable file close request functionality if feasible without disrupting critical operations. 6) Conduct thorough testing in controlled environments before deploying any updates or mitigations to avoid unintended service impact. 7) Maintain an incident response plan specifically addressing potential denial of service attacks targeting industrial communication protocols.

Description

In mz-automation libiec61850 v1.4.0, a NULL Pointer Dereference was detected in the mmsServer_handleFileCloseRequest.c function of src/mms/iso_mms/server/mms_file_service.c. The vulnerability manifests as SEGV and causes the application to crash

Impact

The primary impact of CVE-2024-28286 is a denial of service condition caused by application crashes when handling specific file close requests. For organizations using mz-automation libiec61850 in industrial control systems, this can lead to interruption of critical communication channels that manage electrical substations, power grids, and other automation infrastructure. Such disruptions can degrade operational reliability, cause downtime, and potentially affect safety systems. Since the vulnerability can be triggered remotely without authentication, attackers could exploit it to disrupt services at scale. Although it does not compromise data confidentiality or integrity, the loss of availability in critical infrastructure environments can have cascading effects, including financial losses, regulatory penalties, and damage to public trust. The lack of known exploits reduces immediate risk, but the vulnerability's presence in widely deployed ICS protocols makes it a significant concern for industrial operators worldwide.

CWE-476NULL Pointer Dereference (opens in a new tab)
Base weaknessLikelihood of exploit: MediumCWE Top 25 (2025): #13OWASP Top 10 A10:2025: Mishandling of Exceptional Conditions (opens in a new tab)
The product dereferences a pointer that it expects to be valid but is NULL.
Implementation
For any pointers that could have been modified or provided from a function that can return NULL, check the pointer for NULL before use. When working with a multithreaded or otherwise asynchronous environment, ensure that proper locking APIs are used to lock before the check, and unlock when it has finished.
Requirements
Select a programming language that is not susceptible to these issues.
Implementation
Check the results of all functions that return a value and verify that the value is non-null before acting upon it.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
Logging (opens in a new tab)
Error Handling (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V11.1.7 (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

github.com/mz-automation/libiec61850/issues/496 (opens in a new tab)

Community reviews

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 26 Feb 2026, 19:15 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-476

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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