dbcve.org
OpenbsiApplication · Emerson

CVE-2022-29959

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-08-16
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 5.9 or later.
See remediation →
57/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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
Emerson OpenBSI through 2022-04-29 mishandles credential storage. It is an engineering environment for the ControlWave and Bristol Babcock line of RTUs. This environment provides access control functionality through user authentication and privilege management. The credentials for various users are stored insecurely in the SecUsers.ini file by using a simple string transformation rather than a cryptographic mechanism.

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

Emerson OpenBSI stores user credentials in the SecUsers.ini file using a simple string transformation (obfuscation) rather than proper cryptographic hashing or encryption. An attacker with access to this configuration file can easily recover plaintext credentials and gain authenticated access to the engineering environment with the associated privileges.

MitigationContact Emerson for the patched version addressing this vulnerability. In the interim, strictly limit access to the SecUsers.ini file, implement network segmentation to protect the engineering workstation, and monitor for unauthorized access to the system.

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
OpenbsiApplication
Affected:< 5.9= 5.9

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
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

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 OpenBSI installation and version
    Locate the OpenBSI application and determine its version number, typically found in the program files directory, About dialog, or version metadata
    Affected if The installed version is less than 5.9 or equals 5.9 (versions 5.9 and below are affected)
  2. Locate SecUsers.ini file
    Search for the SecUsers.ini file within the OpenBSI installation directory or configuration folders
    Affected if The SecUsers.ini file exists and contains user account credentials
  3. Examine stored credential format
    Open SecUsers.ini and inspect how passwords are stored - look for whether they appear as simple transformed strings rather than cryptographic hash values
    Affected if Credentials are stored using simple string obfuscation that can be easily reversed to plaintext

If OpenBSI version is 5.9 or below and SecUsers.ini contains credentials in a reversible obfuscated format (not cryptographically hashed), the environment is affected by CVE-2022-29959

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 5.9 or later
Fixed in 5.9
Interim mitigation

Contact Emerson for the patched version addressing this vulnerability. In the interim, strictly limit access to the SecUsers.ini file, implement network segmentation to protect the engineering workstation, and monitor for unauthorized access to the system.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Emerson OpenBSI version > 5.9 (contact Emerson for the specific fixed release)

  1. 1. Identify the current installed version of Emerson OpenBSI by checking the application or system documentation
  2. 2. Obtain the latest version of Emerson OpenBSI from the official Emerson vendor (version > 5.9)
  3. 3. Before upgrading, backup the existing SecUsers.ini file and any related configuration files
  4. 4. Perform the upgrade following Emerson's standard upgrade procedure for OpenBSI
  5. 5. After upgrade, verify that credentials are now stored using proper cryptographic mechanisms rather than simple string transformation
  6. 6. Confirm that user authentication and access control functionality works correctly post-upgrade
Caveat Review Emerson release notes for the target version to check for any compatibility changes or required configuration adjustments

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

Fix this in Openbsi Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation6.0 h
  • Implementation12.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
30.0 hours of engineering $5,280
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $8,448.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2022-29959 — 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-2022-29959 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