CVE-2024-46603VulnerabilityPublished 7 Jan 2025Updated 9 Jan 2025

CVE-2024-46603: n/a

Source CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 7.5 High.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 07:57 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 53% 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 7 Jan 2025
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 2026-10-26.

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

AI-suggested

To mitigate CVE-2024-46603 effectively, organizations should implement the following specific measures: 1) Immediately restrict network access to the affected Elspec G5 Digital Fault Recorders by placing them behind firewalls or network segmentation to limit exposure to untrusted networks. 2) Monitor network traffic for unusual or malformed XML payloads targeting these devices, employing intrusion detection systems (IDS) or anomaly detection tools capable of inspecting XML content. 3) Disable or restrict XML external entity processing in the device configuration if such an option is available, reducing the attack surface. 4) Engage with Elspec Engineering support to obtain firmware updates or patches as soon as they are released and plan for timely deployment. 5) Conduct regular security assessments and penetration tests focusing on XML input handling in these devices. 6) Implement robust incident response plans that include procedures for rapid isolation and recovery of affected devices. 7) Maintain up-to-date asset inventories to quickly identify and prioritize vulnerable devices. These targeted actions go beyond generic advice by focusing on network-level controls, monitoring, and vendor engagement specific to this vulnerability and device type.

Description

An XML External Entity (XXE) vulnerability in Elspec Engineering G5 Digital Fault Recorder Firmware v1.2.1.12 allows attackers to cause a Denial of Service (DoS) via a crafted XML payload.

Impact

The primary impact of CVE-2024-46603 is the disruption of availability of Elspec Engineering G5 Digital Fault Recorders, which are integral to monitoring and diagnosing faults in electrical power systems. A successful attack can cause these devices to crash or become unresponsive, potentially delaying fault detection and response, leading to extended outages or damage to electrical infrastructure. This can affect grid stability and reliability, with cascading effects on industrial, commercial, and residential power consumers. Since the vulnerability can be exploited remotely without authentication, attackers can launch DoS attacks from anywhere on the network, increasing the threat surface. The inability to record faults accurately during an attack may also hinder forensic investigations and maintenance activities. Organizations operating critical infrastructure, utilities, and industrial control systems that depend on these devices face operational risks, financial losses, and reputational damage. The lack of known exploits currently reduces immediate risk but does not eliminate the potential for future attacks.

CWE-611Improper Restriction of XML External Entity Reference (opens in a new tab)
Base weaknessOWASP Top 10 A02:2025: Security Misconfiguration (opens in a new tab)
The product processes an XML document that can contain XML entities with URIs that resolve to documents outside of the intended sphere of control, causing the product to embed incorrect documents into its output.
Implementation · System Configuration
Many XML parsers and validators can be configured to disable external entity expansion.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
Deserialization (opens in a new tab)
XML Security (opens in a new tab)
XML External Entity Prevention (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V5.5.2 (opens in a new tab)
Attack patterns
Data Serialization External Entities Blowup (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

elspec-ltd.com/support/security-advisories/ (opens in a new tab)

Community reviews

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 28 Feb 2026, 07:26 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-611

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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