dbcve.org
Intelligent Power ManagerApplication · Eaton

CVE-2021-23281

CRITICAL · 10.0 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-04-13
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 1.69 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
Eaton Intelligent Power Manager (IPM) prior to 1.69 is vulnerable to unauthenticated remote code execution vulnerability. IPM software does not sanitize the date provided via coverterCheckList action in meta_driver_srv.js class. Attackers can send a specially crafted packet to make IPM connect to rouge SNMP server and execute attacker-controlled code.

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

Eaton Intelligent Power Manager (IPM) before version 1.69 contains an unauthenticated remote code execution vulnerability in the meta_driver_srv.js class. The coverterCheckList action fails to sanitize input, allowing attackers to send specially crafted packets that cause IPM to connect to a rogue SNMP server and execute attacker-controlled code.

MitigationUpgrade Eaton IPM to version 1.69 or later to remediate this vulnerability. Until patched, restrict network access to the IPM management interface and monitor for suspicious SNMP connections.

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
Intelligent Power ManagerApplication
Affected:< 1.69

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
Changed
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/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 if Eaton IPM is installed
    Check common installation paths: Windows: C:\Program Files\Eaton\Intelligent Power Manager or C:\Program Files (x86)\Eaton\Intelligent Power Manager. Linux: /opt/Eaton/ipm or /usr/local/ipm. Also check running services for 'Eaton IPM' or 'ipm' processes.
    Affected if Eaton Intelligent Power Manager is installed and running on the system
  2. Determine installed IPM version
    Check version file in installation directory: Windows: look for version.txt or check Add/Remove Programs. Linux: check /opt/Eaton/ipm/version.txt or run 'rpm -q ipm'/'dpkg -l | grep ipm'. The web interface may also show version in About/Help pages.
    Affected if Installed version is lower than 1.69 (e.g., 1.68, 1.67, etc.)
  3. Verify web interface exposure
    Check if IPM web service is accessible on network. Default ports are 4679, 4680, 4681 (HTTPS). Scan local ports or check firewall rules: 'netstat -an | grep -E "(4679|4680|4681)"' or review firewall configuration.
    Affected if IPM web interface is accessible from network (unauthenticated vulnerability)
  4. Inspect for suspicious SNMP configurations
    Review IPM configuration files for unexpected SNMP server entries. Check files in config directory: snmp-config.xml, device-config.xml, or similar. Look for external IP addresses in SNMP settings that were not configured by your organization.
    Affected if SNMP configuration contains unfamiliar or external SNMP server addresses

A system is affected if Eaton IPM version is below 1.69 and the web management interface is network-accessible, allowing unauthenticated attackers to trigger the vulnerable converterCheckList action.

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 1.69 or later
Fixed in 1.69
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Eaton IPM to version 1.69 or later to remediate this vulnerability. Until patched, restrict network access to the IPM management interface and monitor for suspicious SNMP connections.

Recommended fix High confidence

Eaton Intelligent Power Manager version 1.69 or later

  1. 1. Identify the current version of Eaton Intelligent Power Manager installed on the system
  2. 2. Download Eaton Intelligent Power Manager version 1.69 or later from the official Eaton website (www.eaton.com)
  3. 3. Create a backup of the current IPM configuration and data
  4. 4. Stop the Intelligent Power Manager service before applying the upgrade
  5. 5. Install version 1.69 or later of IPM using the downloaded installer
  6. 6. Restart the Intelligent Power Manager service after installation completes
  7. 7. Verify the installation was successful by checking the version number in the application
  8. 8. Test that normal IPM functionality is working as expected

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

Fix this in Intelligent Power Manager Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
16.0 hours of engineering $2,680
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,288.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-23281 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2021-23281 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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