CVE-2025-41697: Phoenix Contact FL SWITCH 2005 · Missing Protection Mechanism for Alternate Hardware Interface
Affects Phoenix Contact FL SWITCH 2005Source CVE Database V5
Mentioned vulnerabilities
Not known to be exploited · CVSS 6.8 Medium.
Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 10:12 UTC
- EPSS
- 0.2% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 14% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
CVSS:3.1/AV:P/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:HExploitation evidence
Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 9 Dec 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 26 Oct 2026.
What to do
Affected software
| Product | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
| Phoenix Contact FL SWITCH 2005 | Affected
| Fixed in– |
AI-suggested
- Conduct an immediate inventory of all Phoenix Contact FL SWITCH 2005 devices within the network to identify affected hardware.
- Restrict physical access to network equipment to prevent unauthorized hardware interface exploitation, including securing server rooms and network closets.
- Implement network segmentation and strict access controls to limit network proximity to critical switches, reducing the attack surface.
- Monitor network traffic for unusual activity that could indicate exploitation attempts, including anomalous root access or configuration changes.
- Disable or physically block access to undocumented UART ports where feasible, such as by applying hardware tamper-evident seals or removing connectors.
- Coordinate with Phoenix Contact for firmware updates or patches addressing this vulnerability and apply them promptly once available.
- Use multi-factor authentication and strong credential management to mitigate risks from credential compromise related to CVE-2025-41692.
- Incorporate this vulnerability into incident response and threat hunting exercises to improve detection and response capabilities.
Description
An attacker can use an undocumented UART port on the PCB as a side-channel to get root access e.g.with the credentials obtained from CVE-2025-41692.