CVE-2020-7565
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 · uneditedA CWE-326: Inadequate Encryption Strength vulnerability exists in Modicon M221 (all references, all versions) that could allow the attacker to break the encryption key when the attacker has captured the traffic between EcoStruxure Machine - Basic software and Modicon M221 controller.
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 confidenceThe Modicon M221 PLC uses inadequate encryption strength for communications with EcoStruxure Machine - Basic software, allowing an attacker who captures network traffic to break the encryption key and potentially intercept or manipulate communications.
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 dataall versionsCVSS 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
- Adjacent
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify Modicon M221 PLC devices on the networkScan the network for devices with vendor ID for Schneider Electric and product identification matching Modicon M221, or check PLC project files for M221 controller referencesAffected if A Modicon M221 PLC is present in the environment
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Confirm firmware version of the Modicon M221Connect to the PLC via EcoStruxure Machine - Basic or Unity Pro/SoMachine Basic and navigate to the firmware information section, or use the PLC programming software to read the controller propertiesAffected if The firmware version cannot be determined or is any version (all versions are affected)
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Identify EcoStruxure Machine - Basic software in useCheck engineering workstations for installed software and identify EcoStruxure Machine - Basic or verify project files that use this software for M221 programmingAffected if EcoStruxure Machine - Basic software is used to program or communicate with the PLC
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Inspect network traffic between PLC and engineering workstationCapture network traffic using a packet sniffer (such as Wireshark) on the network segment between the Modicon M221 and the workstation running EcoStruxure Machine - Basic; examine the encryption protocol and key exchangeAffected if Unencrypted or weakly encrypted traffic is observed, or traffic uses a known weak encryption algorithm (e.g., static or short-key encryption)
A user is affected if a Modicon M221 PLC with any firmware version is present and communicates with EcoStruxure Machine - Basic software using inadequate encryption
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 dataSince all versions are affected, contact Schneider Electric for firmware updates. In the interim, network segmentation and monitoring for suspicious traffic can reduce risk.
- 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-2020-7565 — 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-2020-7565 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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- 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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