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Smartlink Hw DpApplication · Softing

CVE-2021-40872

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-11-10
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 1.40 or later.
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
An issue was discovered in Softing Industrial Automation uaToolkit Embedded before 1.40. Remote attackers to cause a denial of service (DoS) or login as an anonymous user (bypassing security checks) by sending crafted messages to a OPC/UA server. The server process may crash unexpectedly because of an invalid type cast, and must be restarted.

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 Softing Industrial Automation uaToolkit Embedded before v1.40, remote attackers can send specially crafted OPC/UA messages to trigger an invalid type cast in the server, causing an unexpected process crash (DoS). The same crafted messages can also bypass security checks, allowing anonymous user login. The server requires manual restart after crash.

MitigationUpdate uaToolkit Embedded to version 1.40 or later to receive the vendor patch for the type cast vulnerability. Prioritize updates in production OPC/UA environments given the remote unauthenticated attack vector and combined DoS/authentication bypass impact.

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
Smartlink Hw DpApplication
Affected:<= 1.10
Uatoolkit EmbeddedApplication
Affected:< 1.40

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. Identify installed Softing uaToolkit Embedded version
    Check the installed software version for uaToolkit Embedded through the application binary, installer records, or product-specific version command. Compare the version number to the affected range (anything below 1.40).
    Affected if The installed version is below 1.40 (e.g., 1.30, 1.20, etc.)
  2. Identify installed Softing Smartlink Hw Dp version
    Check the installed software version for Softing Smartlink Hw Dp through the application binary, installer records, or product-specific version command. Compare the version number to the affected range (1.10 or lower).
    Affected if The installed version is 1.10 or lower.
  3. Verify OPC/UA server is exposed on the network
    Inspect network listening services or firewall rules to determine if the OPC/UA server component is accessible from external network interfaces. Check for open ports typically used by OPC/UA (e.g., 4840, 4843) or application-specific ports.
    Affected if The OPC/UA server is listening on a network interface accessible to remote attackers.
  4. Check if anonymous OPC/UA login is allowed
    Review the OPC/UA server security configuration or user management settings to determine if anonymous or unauthenticated access is permitted. Inspect configuration files or the server security policy settings.
    Affected if Anonymous user login is enabled or security checks can be bypassed via the vulnerability.

A user is affected if their environment runs Softing uaToolkit Embedded below version 1.10 or Smartlink Hw Dp at or below 1.10, with the OPC/UA server network-accessible and potentially allowing unauthenticated access.

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 1.40 or later
Fixed in 1.40
Interim mitigation

Update uaToolkit Embedded to version 1.40 or later to receive the vendor patch for the type cast vulnerability. Prioritize updates in production OPC/UA environments given the remote unauthenticated attack vector and combined DoS/authentication bypass impact.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

uaToolkit Embedded 1.40 (or Smartlink Hw Dp 1.11 if available)

  1. 1. Identify the current version of Softing uaToolkit Embedded or Smartlink Hw Dp installed in your environment
  2. 2. Obtain the fixed version 1.40 or later from Softing Industrial Automation's official download channels
  3. 3. Test the upgrade in a non-production environment before deploying to production
  4. 4. Apply the upgrade to all affected systems following standard change management procedures
  5. 5. Verify the upgrade was successful and the service is functioning correctly
Caveat Review Softing release notes for version 1.40 to check for any API changes or compatibility considerations with your existing OPC/UA client applications

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

Fix this in Smartlink Hw Dp Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
16.0 hours of engineering $2,780
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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-2021-40872 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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