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Automation StudioApplication · Br Automation

CVE-2020-24681

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-02-02
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 4.7.7.74 / 4.8.6.30 or later.
See remediation →
90/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
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
Incorrect Permission Assignment for Critical Resource vulnerability in B&R Industrial Automation Automation Studio allows Privilege Escalation.This issue affects Automation Studio: from 4.6.0 through 4.6.X, from 4.7.0 before 4.7.7 SP, from 4.8.0 before 4.8.6 SP, from 4.9.0 before 4.9.4 SP.

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

Automation Studio contains an incorrect permission assignment vulnerability where critical system resources have improper access controls, allowing a local attacker to escalate privileges by accessing or modifying resources they should not have permission to access.

MitigationUpgrade Automation Studio to version 4.7.7 SP, 4.8.6 SP, 4.9.4 SP or later. Review and correct file system permissions on critical resources as a defensive measure.

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
Automation StudioApplication
Affected:>= 4.0, < 4.7.7.74>= 4.8, < 4.8.6.30>= 4.9, < 4.9.4.92

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
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/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. Identify installed Automation Studio version
    Locate the Automation Studio installation and retrieve its version number, typically found in the program properties, about dialog, or installation directory
    Affected if The installed version falls within any of these ranges: >= 4.0 and < 4.7.7.74; >= 4.8 and < 4.8.6.30; >= 4.9 and < 4.9.4.92
  2. Verify if local user access controls exist
    Examine the user accounts and group memberships on the system where Automation Studio is installed to determine what local access levels are present
    Affected if Non-administrator users have local account access to the system where Automation Studio is installed
  3. Inspect file system permissions on Automation Studio directories
    Review access control lists on the main Automation Studio installation folder and subdirectories, checking which users or groups have read, write, or execute permissions
    Affected if Users with limited privileges (non-admin) can access or modify files or directories they should not have permission to access within the Automation Studio installation path
  4. Check for unauthorized modification of system resources
    Look for evidence that local users without administrative rights have been able to modify configuration files, scripts, or critical resources within the Automation Studio environment
    Affected if Users with lower privilege levels can alter resources that should be restricted to administrators or elevated accounts

A system is affected if it runs any vulnerable version of Automation Studio (4.0 through 4.7.7.73, 4.8 through 4.8.6.29, or 4.9 through 4.9.4.91) AND allows local users with limited privileges to access or modify resources they should not be able to reach.

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 4.7.7.74 / 4.8.6.30 / 4.9.4.92 or later
Fixed in 4.7.7.744.8.6.304.9.4.92
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Automation Studio to version 4.7.7 SP, 4.8.6 SP, 4.9.4 SP or later. Review and correct file system permissions on critical resources as a defensive measure.

Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to Automation Studio 4.7.7.74+, 4.8.6.30+, or 4.9.4.92+ (or latest available version in your branch)

  1. Identify the current installed version of Automation Studio (Help > About in the application)
  2. Navigate to the B&R Automation Studio download page or contact B&R support to obtain the appropriate fixed version
  3. For version 4.7.x: Upgrade to version 4.7.7.74 or later
  4. For version 4.8.x: Upgrade to version 4.8.6.30 or later
  5. For version 4.9.x: Upgrade to version 4.9.4.92 or later
  6. Before upgrading, back up all Automation Studio projects and configurations
  7. Run the installer with administrator privileges
  8. Follow the on-screen installation wizard prompts
Caveat Review release notes for your specific version for any behavioral changes; standard practice is to back up projects before upgrading

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

Fix this in Automation Studio 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-2020-24681 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
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data