dbcve.org
800xa SystemApplication · Abb

CVE-2020-8481

CRITICAL · 9.8 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 →
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
For 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, confidential data is written in an unprotected file. An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could take full control of the computer.

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

In multiple ABB industrial automation products (System 800xA, Compact HMI, Control Builder, Symphony Plus, OPC Servers, Knowledge Manager, MOM), confidential data is being written to unprotected files. An attacker with access to the system can read this unprotected confidential data and leverage it to achieve full remote code execution and complete system compromise.

MitigationImplement proper file access controls and encryption for confidential data storage. Apply vendor patches when available and restrict network access to affected industrial control system components.

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

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. Identify if ABB 800xA System is installed
    Check for ABB 800xA installation directories (commonly under C:\ABB or C:\Program Files\ABB) or look for ABB services in Windows Services list running as part of 800xA System.
    Affected if ABB 800xA System is present on the host.
  2. Verify the installed version is 5.1
    Locate the 800xA version information in the installation directory, typically in a version.info file or via the Control Builder M Professional application properties. Check the exact version number against 5.1.
    Affected if The installed version is exactly 5.1.
  3. Check for unprotected configuration or data files
    Navigate to the 800xA data directories (such as \Data\ or \Config\ under the installation path) and examine file permissions using icacls or file explorer properties to see if files are readable by non-privileged users.
    Affected if Confidential configuration files are readable by users without administrator privileges.
  4. Inspect data directory contents for sensitive information
    Examine files in the 800xA data directories for unencrypted files containing passwords, keys, or other credentials. Look for files with extensions like .xml, .cfg, .dat, or .ini that may store sensitive operational data.
    Affected if Unencrypted sensitive data files exist in accessible directories.

The system is affected if it runs ABB 800xA System version 5.1 with unprotected confidential data files accessible to unauthorized users.

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 proper file access controls and encryption for confidential data storage. Apply vendor patches when available and restrict network access to affected industrial control system components.

Fix this in 800xa System Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation8.0 h
  • Implementation24.0 h
  • Testing12.0 h
  • Review / QA8.0 h
52.0 hours of engineering $9,160
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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-2020-8481 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