CVE-2021-29297
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 · uneditedBuffer Overflow in Emerson GE Automation Proficy Machine Edition v8.0 allows an attacker to cause a denial of service and application crash via crafted traffic from a Man-in-the-Middle (MITM) attack to the component "FrameworX.exe" in the module "MSVCR100.dll".
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 confidenceBuffer overflow vulnerability in Emerson GE Automation Proficy Machine Edition v8.0 allows an attacker positioned as a Man-in-the-Middle to send crafted network traffic to the FrameworX.exe component (which uses MSVCR100.dll), causing a denial of service and application crash.
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= 8.0CVSS 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
- High
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Confirm Proficy Machine Edition installationLocate the Proficy Machine Edition installation directory. Common paths include C:\Program Files\GE Automation\Proficy Machine Edition or C:\Program Files (x86)\GE Automation\Proficy Machine Edition. Check for the presence of the main application folder.Affected if The software is not installed or the installation directory cannot be found.
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Identify installed versionLocate the version information for the installation. Check the executable properties of any .exe in the Proficy Machine Edition folder, or look for a version file or registry entry under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\GE Automation\Proficy Machine Edition (or similar). The affected version is specifically 8.0.Affected if The installed version is exactly 8.0. Versions other than 8.0 are not affected by this specific CVE.
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Verify FrameworX.exe component presenceNavigate to the Proficy Machine Edition installation directory and search for FrameworX.exe. This is the specific component identified as vulnerable in the CVE.Affected if FrameworX.exe is present on the system.
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Confirm MSVCR100.dll dependencyCheck for the presence of MSVCR100.dll in the FrameworX.exe directory or in system PATH. This DLL is used by the vulnerable component.Affected if MSVCR100.dll is loaded by FrameworX.exe.
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Assess network exposureSince the attack vector requires a Man-in-the-Middle position, evaluate whether the machine running Proficy Machine Edition is on a network segment where an attacker could intercept traffic. Check for exposed network interfaces or listening ports related to the application.Affected if The application is accessible on a network where untrusted parties could potentially intercept communications.
A system is affected only if Proficy Machine Edition version 8.0 is installed with the FrameworX.exe component present and accessible on a network where MITM attacks are possible.
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 dataApply vendor-supplied patches or upgrade to a patched version of Proficy Machine Edition; implement network segmentation to reduce MITM attack surface.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,224.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-29297 — 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-2021-29297 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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data