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800xa SystemApplication · Abb

CVE-2020-8475

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2020-04-29
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
84/100
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
For the Central Licensing Server component used in ABB products ABB Ability™ System 800xA and related system extensions versions 5.1, 6.0 and 6.1, Compact HMI versions 5.1 and 6.0, Control Builder Safe 1.0, 1.1 and 2.0, Symphony Plus -S+ Operations 3.0 to 3.2 Symphony Plus -S+ Engineering 1.1 to 2.2, Composer Harmony 5.1, 6.0 and 6.1, Melody Composer 5.3, 6.1/6.2 and SPE for Melody 1.0SPx (Composer 6.3), Harmony OPC Server (HAOPC) Standalone 6.0, 6.1 and 7.0, ABB Ability™ System 800xA/ Advant® OCS Control Builder A 1.3 and 1.4, Advant® OCS AC100 OPC Server 5.1, 6.0 and 6.1, Composer CTK 6.1 and 6.2, AdvaBuild 3.7 SP1 and SP2, OPCServer for MOD 300 (non-800xA) 1.4, OPC Data Link 2.1 and 2.2, Knowledge Manager 8.0, 9.0 and 9.1, Manufacturing Operations Management 1812 and 1909, ABB AbilityTM SCADAvantage versions 5.1 to 5.6.5, a weakness in validation of input exists that allows an attacker to block license handling by sending specially crafted messages to the CLS web service.

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

A denial-of-service vulnerability exists in the ABB Central Licensing Server (CLS) web service due to insufficient input validation. An attacker can send specially crafted messages to the CLS web service that trigger a failure in license handling, effectively blocking legitimate license operations.

MitigationImplement robust input validation and sanitization on all incoming messages to the CLS web service. Consider adding request rate limiting and anomaly detection to identify and block malicious license requests.

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
800xa SystemApplication
Affected:= 5.1= 6.0= 6.0.1= 6.0.3= 6.0.3.3= 6.1
Compact HmiApplication
Affected:= 5.1= 6.0.1-1= 6.0.3-2
Control Builder SafeApplication
Affected:= 1.0= 1.1= 2.0

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
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/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 CLS web service is running
    Check if the ABB Central Licensing Server (CLS) web service is running on the system. This is typically a Windows service or can be verified through the ABB licensing administration interface.
    Affected if The CLS web service is exposed and accessible on the network.
  2. Identify installed ABB product version
    Use the ABB system information or control panel to determine the exact version of ABB 800xA System, ABB Compact Hmi, or ABB Control Builder Safe installed. Compare the version against the affected ranges: 5.1, 6.0, 6.0.1, 6.0.3, 6.0.3.3, 6.1 for 800xA; 5.1, 6.0.1-1, 6.0.3-2 for Compact Hmi; 1.0, 1.1, 2.0 for Control Builder Safe.
    Affected if The installed version matches one of the affected versions listed.
  3. Check for license service availability
    Monitor the CLS web service availability and responsiveness. Attempt to perform a standard license operation (such as checking out a license or viewing license status) through the licensing interface.
    Affected if License operations fail or the CLS web service becomes unresponsive after processing incoming requests.
  4. Review CLS web service logs
    Examine CLS web service logs for error messages or exceptions related to license handling failures, particularly those occurring after processing incoming messages.
    Affected if Logs show license handling errors or service failures triggered by incoming messages.

A user is affected if the CLS web service is running, the installed ABB product version matches one of the affected versions (5.1, 6.0.x, 6.1 for 800xA; 5.1, 6.0.1-1, 6.0.3-2 for Compact Hmi; 1.0-2.0 for Control Builder Safe), and license operations are failing or the service is unresponsive.

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

Implement robust input validation and sanitization on all incoming messages to the CLS web service. Consider adding request rate limiting and anomaly detection to identify and block malicious license requests.

Fix this in 800xa System Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
22.0 hours of engineering $3,860
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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-2020-8475 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