VulnerabilityPublished 9 Feb 2026

CVE-2026-22613: Eaton Network M3 · Improper Certificate Validation

Affects Eaton Network M3Source CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 5.7 Medium : upgrade to 2.3.3 when convenient.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 17:16 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

5.7Medium

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

EPSS: 0.1% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 7% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch: Available – fixed in 2.3.3

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

Attack Vector: Network
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: High
User Interaction: Required
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality: High
Integrity: Low
Availability: Low

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: High: The attacker is authorized with (i.e., requires) privileges that provide significant (e.g., administrative) control over the vulnerable component that could affect component-wide settings and files.
User Interaction: Required: Successful exploitation of this vulnerability requires a user to take some action before the vulnerability can be exploited.
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: High: There is total loss of confidentiality, resulting in all resources within the impacted component being divulged to the attacker. Alternatively, access to only some restricted information is obtained, but the disclosed information presents a direct, serious impact.
Integrity: Low: Modification of data is possible, but the attacker does not have control over the consequence of a modification, or the amount of modification is limited. The data modification does not have a direct, serious impact on the impacted component.
Availability: Low: Performance is reduced or there are interruptions in resource availability. Even if repeated exploitation of the vulnerability is possible, the attacker does not have the ability to completely deny service to legitimate users. The resources in the impacted component are either partially available all of the time, or fully available only some of the time, but overall there is no direct, serious consequence to the impacted component.

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 9 Feb 2026
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

Upgrade Eaton Network M3 to 2.3.3.

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
EatonNetwork M3	Affected <2.3.3	Fixed in 2.3.3

AI-suggested

Immediately update all Eaton Network M3 devices to the latest firmware version provided by Eaton that addresses CVE-2026-22613.
Restrict access to the command shell interface used for firmware upgrades to trusted administrators only, employing strong authentication and network segmentation.
Implement network monitoring and intrusion detection systems to detect anomalous traffic patterns indicative of MitM attacks during firmware upgrade windows.
Educate and train personnel on the risks of social engineering and the importance of verifying firmware upgrade procedures to prevent inadvertent user interaction that could facilitate exploitation.
Employ cryptographic verification of firmware images independently, where possible, to ensure integrity beyond the device’s built-in checks.
Regularly audit and review access logs and firmware upgrade histories to detect unauthorized or suspicious activities.
Consider deploying network-level protections such as TLS interception prevention and certificate pinning if supported by the device environment.

Description

CVE-2026-22613 is a medium severity vulnerability affecting Eaton Network M3 devices, caused by improper certificate validation during firmware upgrades via command shell. This flaw allows an attacker with high privileges and requiring user interaction to potentially conduct a man-in-the-middle (MitM) attack, compromising confidentiality and partially impacting integrity and availability. The vulnerability arises from insecure server identity checks, enabling interception or manipulation of firmware upgrade processes. Eaton has addressed this issue in the latest firmware version available on their download center. European organizations using Eaton Network M3 devices should prioritize updating to the patched firmware to mitigate risks. The vulnerability is remotely exploitable with low attack complexity but requires privileged access and user interaction. Countries with significant industrial and critical infrastructure sectors relying on Eaton products, such as Germany, France, and the UK, are most likely to be impacted. Mitigation involves applying the firmware update, restricting access to command shell interfaces, and monitoring network traffic for suspicious activity during firmware upgrades.

Impact

For European organizations, especially those in industrial, manufacturing, energy, and critical infrastructure sectors, this vulnerability poses a significant risk. Successful exploitation could lead to interception or tampering of firmware upgrades, potentially allowing attackers to implant malicious code or disrupt device operations. This compromises the confidentiality of firmware data and could lead to partial integrity and availability issues, impacting operational continuity and safety. Given the reliance on Eaton Network M3 devices in critical network management roles, exploitation could facilitate broader network compromise or disruption. The requirement for high privileges and user interaction limits the attack surface but does not eliminate risk, particularly in environments where insider threats or phishing attacks could enable privilege escalation or trick users into initiating vulnerable upgrade processes. The medium severity rating indicates that while not critical, the vulnerability warrants prompt remediation to avoid potential cascading effects in complex industrial networks.

Summary

CVE-2026-22613 identifies a vulnerability in Eaton Network M3 devices related to improper certificate validation (CWE-295) during firmware upgrades conducted via the command shell interface. The core issue is that the server identity check mechanism is insecurely implemented, which undermines the authentication process that verifies the legitimacy of the firmware source. This flaw can be exploited by an attacker positioned to intercept communications between the device and the firmware server, enabling a man-in-the-middle (MitM) attack. Through such an attack, the adversary could potentially deliver malicious firmware or manipulate the upgrade process, thereby compromising the confidentiality of the firmware data and partially affecting the integrity and availability of the device. The CVSS v3.1 score of 5.7 reflects a medium severity, with the vector indicating network attack vector (AV:N), low attack complexity (AC:L), but requiring high privileges (PR:H) and user interaction (UI:R). The scope remains unchanged (S:U), with high impact on confidentiality (C:H), low impact on integrity (I:L), and low impact on availability (A:L). This suggests that while the attacker needs elevated privileges and user interaction, the potential damage includes exposure of sensitive firmware data and limited disruption of device functionality. Eaton has released a firmware update that addresses this vulnerability by properly implementing server certificate validation. No known exploits are reported in the wild as of the publication date. The vulnerability primarily affects organizations deploying Eaton Network M3 devices, which are commonly used in industrial and critical infrastructure environments for network management and control.

CWE-295Improper Certificate Validation (opens in a new tab)
Base weaknessOWASP Top 10 A07:2025: Authentication Failures (opens in a new tab)
The product does not validate, or incorrectly validates, a certificate.
Architecture and Design · Implementation
Certificates should be carefully managed and checked to assure that data are encrypted with the intended owner's public key.
Implementation
If certificate pinning is being used, ensure that all relevant properties of the certificate are fully validated before the certificate is pinned, including the hostname.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
Transport Layer Protection (opens in a new tab)
TLS Cipher String (opens in a new tab)
OWASP Authentication (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V9.2.1 (opens in a new tab)
V1.9.2 (opens in a new tab)
V2.8.5 (opens in a new tab)
Attack patterns
Creating a Rogue Certification Authority Certificate (opens in a new tab)
Signature Spoofing by Improper Validation (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

eaton.com/content/dam/eaton/company/news-insights/cybersecurity/security-bulletins/etn-va-2025-1002.pdf (opens in a new tab)

Community reviews

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 16 Feb 2026, 13:26 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-295

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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