CVE-2011-4860
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedThe ComputePassword function in the Schneider Electric Quantum Ethernet Module on the NOE 771 device (aka the Quantum 140NOE771* module) generates the password for the fwupgrade account by performing a calculation on the MAC address, which makes it easier for remote attackers to obtain access via a (1) ARP request message or (2) Neighbor Solicitation message.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · high confidenceThe Schneider Electric Quantum 140NOE771* Ethernet Module has a critical vulnerability where the password for the privileged 'fwupgrade' account is deterministically computed from the device's MAC address. Since MAC addresses can be obtained via ARP requests or Neighbor Solicitation messages, remote attackers can trivially calculate the password and gain administrative access to the device.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data<= 3.3<= 3.4<= 4.9<= 5.0CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Authentication
- None
- Confidentiality
- Complete
- Integrity
- Complete
- Availability
- Complete
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify the Quantum Ethernet Module modelPhysically inspect the device or check network inventory for Schneider Electric Quantum 140NOE77100, 140NOE77101, or 140NOE77111 modulesAffected if The device model is one of these three variants
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Check the installed firmware versionAccess the device web interface, use SNMP, or query the device management interface to retrieve the firmware version. Compare against affected versions: 140NOE77100 <= 3.3 or <= 3.4, 140NOE77101 <= 4.9, 140NOE77111 <= 5.0Affected if The firmware version is at or below the listed thresholds for your specific model
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Verify if the fwupgrade account is presentAttempt to access the device administrative interface using the 'fwupgrade' username, or check the device user account list if accessibleAffected if The fwupgrade privileged account exists and is accessible on the device
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Test if the deterministic password calculation worksObtain the device MAC address from ARP cache or network traffic, apply the known algorithm to compute the fwupgrade password, and attempt authenticationAffected if The computed password successfully authenticates as the fwupgrade user, confirming the vulnerability
You are affected if you have a Quantum 140NOE771* module running firmware at or below the affected version threshold and the fwupgrade account is accessible, allowing authentication using a MAC-derived password.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
From vendor dataReplace the deterministic password algorithm with cryptographically random password generation, or update to a patched firmware version. As a compensating control, isolate the affected devices on a restricted network segment and disable the fwupgrade account if not required.
- Consultation8.0 h
- Implementation16.0 h
- Testing12.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2011-4860 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2011-4860 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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