Deltav Distributed Control System Sq Controller FirmwareOperating system · Emerson

CVE-2022-29963

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. TELNET on port 18550 provides access to a root shell via hardcoded credentials. 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 · high confidence

Emerson DeltaV DCS controllers and IO cards (S-series, P-series, CIOC/EIOC nodes) expose a TELNET service on port 18500 that provides root shell access using hardcoded credentials. An attacker with network access to this port can gain full control of the device.

MitigationDisable TELNET service on port 18500 if not operationally required; otherwise implement network segmentation to restrict access to authorized personnel only and coordinate with Emerson for firmware updates that address the hardcoded credentials.

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. Verify port 18500 is open and responsive
    Scan the target device using a network port scanner (such as nmap) or check listening ports on the device itself. Attempt a telnet connection to port 18500 to see if a service responds.
    Affected if Port 18500 is open and accepts connections, indicating the vulnerable TELNET service is exposed.
  2. Confirm device is an Emerson DeltaV controller or IO card
    Identify the device model by checking the hardware label, controller system information, or querying the device's management interface. Look for model identifiers such as Sq, Sx, Se4002, Se4003, Se4017, or Se4019.
    Affected if The device is one of the DeltaV S-series controllers or Se4000 series IO cards listed in the affected products.
  3. Determine the installed firmware version
    Access the DeltaV controller or IO card management interface (such as the DeltaV Explorer or controller diagnostics) and retrieve the firmware version information. Compare the build date to 2022-04-29.
    Affected if The firmware version date is on or before 2022-04-29, or the version falls within the affected ranges listed for the specific model.
  4. Verify TELNET service is enabled
    Check the controller or IO card configuration to confirm whether the TELNET service on port 18500 is actively enabled. This may be viewable in the device's network services configuration or through a management console.
    Affected if The TELNET service is explicitly enabled and accessible on port 18500.

A device is affected if it is an Emerson DeltaV S-series controller or Se4000 series IO card with firmware dated 2022-04-29 or earlier, and port 18500 is open with the TELNET service enabled.

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.

From vendor data
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 2022-04-29
Interim mitigation

Disable TELNET service on port 18500 if not operationally required; otherwise implement network segmentation to restrict access to authorized personnel only and coordinate with Emerson for firmware updates that address the hardcoded credentials.

Fix this in Deltav Distributed Control System Sq Controller Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation8.0 h
  • Implementation16.0 h
  • Testing12.0 h
  • Review / QA8.0 h
44.0 hours of engineering $7,720
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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-2022-29963 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
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