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Metasys SystemApplication · Johnsoncontrols

CVE-2019-7594

CRITICAL · 9.1 CVSS v3.0 Published 2019-08-20
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 9.0 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
Metasys® ADS/ADX servers and NAE/NIE/NCE engines prior to 9.0 make use of a hardcoded RC2 key for certain encryption operations involving the Site Management Portal (SMP).

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

Metasys ADS/ADX servers and NAE/NIE/NCE engines prior to version 9.0 contain a hardcoded RC2 encryption key used for Site Management Portal operations. This hardcoded key allows attackers to decrypt sensitive communications or impersonate legitimate SMP sessions, potentially exposing industrial control system credentials and configurations.

MitigationUpgrade all affected Metasys components (ADS/ADX servers and NAE/NIE/NCE engines) to version 9.0 or later, which removes the hardcoded key. For systems that cannot be immediately upgraded, implement network segmentation to isolate the SMP interface and monitor for unauthorized access attempts.

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
Metasys SystemApplication
Affected:< 9.0

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
None

CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N

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 the installed Metasys product version
    Access the Metasys system administration interface or check the system information panel to determine the current version number
    Affected if The installed version is below 9.0 (any version prior to 9.0)
  2. Confirm the Metasys component type
    Verify whether the system is an ADS server, ADX server, NAE, NIE, or NCE engine by checking the system documentation or configuration
    Affected if The system is an ADS/ADX server or NAE/NIE/NCE engine running a version prior to 9.0
  3. Determine if Site Management Portal is in use
    Check the system configuration or SMP service status to confirm whether the Site Management Portal interface is enabled or configured
    Affected if SMP is enabled and the Metasys version is below 9.0
  4. Inspect configuration files for hardcoded RC2 key
    Examine Metasys configuration files, typically located in the application data directory or system configuration folders, for the presence of a hardcoded RC2 encryption key string
    Affected if A hardcoded RC2 key value is found in configuration files and the version is below 9.0

The environment is affected if the Metasys system version is below 9.0 and the system is an ADS/ADX server or NAE/NIE/NCE engine with SMP enabled, as the hardcoded RC2 key would be present in that configuration.

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 9.0 or later
Fixed in 9.0
Interim mitigation

Upgrade all affected Metasys components (ADS/ADX servers and NAE/NIE/NCE engines) to version 9.0 or later, which removes the hardcoded key. For systems that cannot be immediately upgraded, implement network segmentation to isolate the SMP interface and monitor for unauthorized access attempts.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Metasys System 9.0

  1. Identify the current Metasys System version by accessing the SMP or checking system documentation
  2. Confirm the installation is an ADS/ADX server or NAE/NIE/NCE engine running a version prior to 9.0
  3. Create a complete backup of the Metasys database and system configuration
  4. Follow Johnson Controls official upgrade documentation to update to Metasys System version 9.0 or later
  5. After upgrade, verify the system is operational and the SMP is accessible
  6. Validate that the hardcoded RC2 key has been replaced with properly managed encryption keys

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

Fix this in Metasys System Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation8.0 h
  • Implementation16.0 h
  • Testing12.0 h
  • Review / QA6.0 h
42.0 hours of engineering $7,360
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $11,776.

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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-2019-7594 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