Deltav Distributed Control System Sq Controller FirmwareOperating system · Emerson

CVE-2022-29962

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-07-26
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 2022-04-29 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
The Emerson DeltaV Distributed Control System (DCS) controllers and IO cards through 2022-04-29 misuse passwords. FTP has hardcoded credentials (but may often be disabled in production). This affects S-series, P-series, and CIOC/EIOC nodes. NOTE: this is different from CVE-2014-2350.

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 confidence

Emerson DeltaV DCS controllers and IO cards (S-series, P-series, CIOC/EIOC nodes) contain hardcoded credentials in the FTP service. These credentials are embedded in the firmware and cannot be changed by administrators. While FTP may often be disabled in production environments, if enabled, it allows authenticated access using these static credentials.

MitigationDisable the FTP service on DeltaV controllers and IO cards if not required for operations. If FTP is necessary, implement strict network segmentation to limit exposure and apply compensating controls such as IP whitelisting and monitoring for unauthorized access attempts.

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
Deltav Distributed Control System Sq Controller FirmwareOperating system
Affected:<= 2022-04-29
Deltav Distributed Control System Sx Controller FirmwareOperating system
Affected:<= 2022-04-29
Se4002s1t2b6 High Side 40 Pin Mass I\/o Terminal Block FirmwareOperating system
Affected:<= 2022-04-29
Se4003s2b4 16 Pin Mass I\/o Terminal Block FirmwareOperating system
Affected:<= 2022-04-29
Se4003s2b524 Pin Mass I\/o Terminal Block FirmwareOperating system
Affected:<= 2022-04-29
Se4017p0 H1 I\/o Interface Card And Terminl Block FirmwareOperating system
Affected:<= 2022-04-29
Se4017p1 H1 I\/o Card With Integrated Power FirmwareOperating system
Affected:<= 2022-04-29
Se4019p0 Simplex H1 4 Port Plus Fieldbus I\/o Interface With Terminalblock FirmwareOperating system
Affected:<= 2022-04-29

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. Inventory DeltaV controllers and IO cards
    Identify all Emerson DeltaV controllers (Sq, Sx series) and IO cards (Se4xxx series) deployed in the network. Consult asset inventory or use network discovery to locate these devices.
    Affected if Any DeltaV controller or IO card is present in the environment.
  2. Confirm device model matches affected product list
    Verify the exact model number of each DeltaV device against the affected products: Sq Controller, Sx Controller, Se4002s1t2b6, Se4003s2b4, Se4003s2b524, Se4017p0, Se4017p1, Se4019p0.
    Affected if Device model is one of the eight listed affected product models.
  3. Check if FTP service is enabled
    Access the DeltaV device management interface or controller configuration and verify whether the FTP service is enabled. This is typically found in network services or protocol configuration settings.
    Affected if FTP service is enabled on the device - this is the key condition for exploitation. If FTP is disabled, the hardcoded credentials cannot be leveraged regardless of firmware version.
  4. Determine firmware version
    Retrieve the firmware version from the DeltaV controller or IO card. This is usually available through the device's web interface, console, or management software under system information or firmware details.
    Affected if Firmware version is dated on or before 2022-04-29. Compare your installed firmware date against this cutoff.
  5. Verify network accessibility of FTP port
    Perform a port scan or check firewall rules to determine if TCP port 21 (FTP) is accessible from any network segment that could contain attackers. Check both external and internal network perspectives.
    Affected if FTP port 21 is exposed and reachable from untrusted network segments.

A user is affected if they have a DeltaV controller or IO card from the affected product list, with FTP service enabled, running firmware dated 2022-04-29 or earlier, and where the FTP port is network-accessible.

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 a release after 2022-04-29
Interim mitigation

Disable the FTP service on DeltaV controllers and IO cards if not required for operations. If FTP is necessary, implement strict network segmentation to limit exposure and apply compensating controls such as IP whitelisting and monitoring for unauthorized access attempts.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Emerson DeltaV firmware released after 2022-04-29 (specific version numbers not provided in available sources)

  1. 1. Identify all affected DeltaV controllers and I/O cards in the manufacturing plant network
  2. 2. Check current firmware versions of each affected device
  3. 3. Obtain updated firmware from Emerson that was released after 2022-04-29
  4. 4. Schedule a maintenance window to apply firmware updates
  5. 5. Before updating, verify that FTP is disabled as a compensating control if immediate patching is not feasible
  6. 6. After firmware update, verify the hardcoded FTP credentials have been removed
  7. 7. Conduct security testing to confirm the vulnerability is resolved

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

Fix this in Deltav Distributed Control System Sq Controller Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation8.0 h
  • Implementation12.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
30.0 hours of engineering $5,380
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Scan for this in your stack

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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-2022-29962 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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What belongs here
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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