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D60 Line Distance Relay FirmwareOperating system · Ge

CVE-2018-5473

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2018-02-19
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 7.11 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
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
An Improper Restriction of Operations within the Bounds of a Memory Buffer issue was discovered in GE D60 Line Distance Relay devices running firmware Version 7.11 and prior. The SSH functions of the device are vulnerable to buffer overflow conditions that may allow a remote attacker to execute arbitrary code on the device.

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 confidence

A buffer overflow vulnerability exists in the SSH service of GE D60 Line Distance Relay devices running firmware version 7.11 and prior. The improper memory bounds restriction allows a remote, unauthenticated attacker to potentially execute arbitrary code on the device by sending specially crafted SSH packets.

MitigationUpdate GE D60 firmware to a version beyond 7.11 when available. If no update is available, restrict network access to the device's SSH port via firewall rules or network segmentation, and monitor for indicators of compromise.

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
D60 Line Distance Relay FirmwareOperating system
Affected:<= 7.11

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
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

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

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. Confirm device model is GE D60 Line Distance Relay
    Access the device management interface or check device documentation/naming to verify the exact model number. This vulnerability only affects the D60 model.
    Affected if The device is any model other than GE D60 Line Distance Relay
  2. Determine the installed firmware version
    Access the device's web interface or CLI and navigate to the system information or firmware version section. The method varies by interface but is typically found under 'System > Device Information' or via 'show version' command in CLI.
    Affected if The installed firmware version is 7.11 or lower (any version <= 7.11)
  3. Verify SSH service is enabled on the device
    Check the device configuration settings for SSH service status. In the web interface, look under 'Configuration > Network Services' or 'Services > SSH'. In CLI, use 'show services' or similar command.
    Affected if SSH service is enabled and configured on the device
  4. Determine if SSH port is accessible from untrusted networks
    Review firewall rules, network segmentation, and access control lists that govern access to the device's SSH port (typically port 22). Check if the SSH service is exposed to the internet or untrusted network segments.
    Affected if The SSH port is reachable from external or untrusted networks without adequate filtering

The device is affected if it is a GE D60 Line Distance Relay running firmware version 7.11 or lower AND has SSH service enabled and accessible.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 7.11
Interim mitigation

Update GE D60 firmware to a version beyond 7.11 when available. If no update is available, restrict network access to the device's SSH port via firewall rules or network segmentation, and monitor for indicators of compromise.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Firmware version > 7.11 (contact GE for specific secure release)

  1. 1. Contact GE Digital Energy or Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories (SEL) for the latest D60 firmware version beyond 7.11
  2. 2. Obtain the firmware update from an authorized GE distributor or support channel
  3. 3. Follow GE's documented firmware update procedure for D60 devices
  4. 4. Verify the firmware version after update matches the secure release
  5. 5. Test SSH functionality to confirm the device operates normally after the update
Caveat Firmware updates on protective relays may require re-testing of protection settings and coordination studies; coordinate with operations before upgrading

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in D60 Line Distance Relay Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation8.0 h
  • Implementation12.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
32.0 hours of engineering $5,680
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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-2018-5473 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data