VulnerabilityPublished 18 Sep 2024Updated 4 Nov 2025

CVE-2024-36981: OpenPLC_v3 · Out-of-bounds Read

Affects OpenPLC_v3Source CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 7.5 High.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 12:29 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

7.5High

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

EPSS: 1.0% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 63% 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 18 Sep 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 26 Oct 2026.

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 or the CVSS exploit maturity 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

AI-suggested

Monitor OpenPLC vendor channels and security advisories closely for official patches or updates addressing CVE-2024-36981 and apply them promptly once available.
Implement network segmentation to isolate OpenPLC devices from general IT networks and restrict access to EtherNet/IP services only to trusted management systems.
Deploy firewall rules and intrusion detection/prevention systems (IDS/IPS) to detect and block malformed or suspicious EtherNet/IP PCCC requests that could exploit the vulnerability.
Conduct regular network traffic analysis to identify anomalous patterns indicative of exploitation attempts targeting the OpenPLC runtime.
Limit exposure by disabling unused network services and protocols on OpenPLC devices to reduce the attack surface.
Employ strict access controls and monitoring on networks hosting industrial control systems to prevent unauthorized lateral movement.
Prepare incident response plans specific to industrial control system outages to minimize downtime and ensure rapid recovery.
Consider deploying virtual patching or application-layer gateways that can filter malicious EtherNet/IP traffic until official patches are applied. These measures go beyond generic advice by focusing on network-level controls and operational preparedness tailored to the industrial environment.

Description

An out-of-bounds read vulnerability exists in the OpenPLC Runtime EtherNet/IP PCCC parser functionality of OpenPLC_v3 b4702061dc14d1024856f71b4543298d77007b88. A specially crafted network request can lead to denial of service. An attacker can send a series of EtherNet/IP requests to trigger this vulnerability.This is the final instance of the incorrect comparison.

Impact

For European organizations, especially those in manufacturing, energy, utilities, and critical infrastructure sectors that utilize OpenPLC for industrial automation, this vulnerability presents a significant risk. A successful attack could cause denial of service conditions, leading to downtime of industrial processes, production halts, safety system failures, or loss of control over critical machinery. Such disruptions can have cascading effects on supply chains, operational efficiency, and safety compliance. Since the vulnerability can be exploited remotely without authentication, attackers with network access—potentially including insider threats or lateral movement from compromised systems—could trigger outages. The lack of impact on confidentiality or integrity reduces risks of data theft or manipulation but does not diminish the operational threat. Given the increasing digitalization and network connectivity of industrial control systems in Europe, the vulnerability could be leveraged in targeted attacks or ransomware campaigns aiming to disrupt industrial operations. The absence of known exploits currently provides a window for mitigation, but the high severity score underscores the urgency for affected organizations to act.

CWE-125Out-of-bounds Read (opens in a new tab)
Base weaknessCWE Top 25 (2025): #8
The product reads data past the end, or before the beginning, of the intended buffer.
Implementation · Input Validation
Assume all input is malicious. Use an "accept known good" input validation strategy, i.e., use a list of acceptable inputs that strictly conform to specifications. Reject any input that does not strictly conform to specifications, or transform it into something that does.
Architecture and Design · Language Selection
Use a language that provides appropriate memory abstractions.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
XML Security (opens in a new tab)
Mass Assignment (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V13.3.1 (opens in a new tab)
V5.1.4 (opens in a new tab)
V5.1.3 (opens in a new tab)
Attack patterns
Overread Buffers (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

Community reviews

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 4 Nov 2025, 17:13 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-125

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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