Ab Micrologix ControllerHardware / appliance · Rockwellautomation

CVE-2012-4690

HIGH · 7.1 CVSS v2.0 Published 2012-12-08
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
80/100
Remediation priority · High
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

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 · unedited
Rockwell Automation Allen-Bradley MicroLogix controller 1100, 1200, 1400, and 1500; SLC 500 controller platform; and PLC-5 controller platform, when Static status is not enabled, allow remote attackers to cause a denial of service via messages that trigger modification of status bits.

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 · moderate confidence

This is a denial of service vulnerability in Rockwell Automation Allen-Bradley programmable logic controllers (MicroLogix 1100/1200/1400/1500, SLC 500, and PLC-5). When the Static status feature is not enabled, remote attackers can send specially crafted messages that modify status bits, causing the controllers to enter a denial of service condition.

MitigationEnable the Static status feature on affected controllers to prevent unauthorized modification of status bits. This configuration change prevents the vulnerability from being exploitable.

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
Ab Micrologix ControllerHardware / appliance
Affected:= 1100= 1200= 1400= 1500
Plc 5 ControllerHardware / appliance
Affected:all versions
Slc 500 ControllerHardware / appliance
Affected:all versions

CVSS 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
M
Authentication
None
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
Complete

AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:N/I:N/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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify controller model and firmware version
    Access the controller through RSLogix/Rockwell programming software or the controller's web interface (for MicroLogix 1100/1400). Navigate to the controller properties or system information to view the exact model number and firmware revision.
    Affected if Controller is a MicroLogix 1100, 1200, 1400, or 1500; or a PLC-5 or SLC 500 of any version.
  2. Locate Static status configuration setting
    In RSLogix 500 (for MicroLogix) or RSLogix 5 (for PLC-5) or RSLogix 500 (for SLC 500), open the controller properties. Look for a setting named 'Static Status', 'Static Mode', or similar under the controller configuration or communication settings.
    Affected if The Static status setting exists in the controller configuration and can be viewed.
  3. Verify Static status is disabled
    Examine the current value of the Static status setting. If it is set to Disabled, Off, or Not Configured, the controller is vulnerable. The vulnerable condition is when Static status is NOT enabled.
    Affected if Static status feature is currently disabled, turned off, or not configured - this means the controller is affected by the vulnerability.

A user is affected if they have a MicroLogix 1100/1200/1400/1500, PLC-5, or SLC 500 controller with the Static status feature disabled (or not enabled), regardless of firmware version.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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 data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Enable the Static status feature on affected controllers to prevent unauthorized modification of status bits. This configuration change prevents the vulnerability from being exploitable.

Fix this in Ab Micrologix Controller Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation6.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
24.0 hours of engineering $4,260
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Scan for this in your stack

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dbcve dependency scanner

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2012-4690 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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