Deltav Distributed Control System Sq Controller FirmwareOperating system · Emerson

CVE-2022-29964

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. WIOC SSH provides access to a shell as root, DeltaV, or backup via hardcoded credentials. 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 WIOC SSH service contains hardcoded credentials allowing root, DeltaV, or backup shell access. These hardcoded passwords baked into the firmware enable unauthenticated attackers to gain privileged access to industrial control system controllers and IO cards.

MitigationReplace hardcoded WIOC SSH credentials with strong, unique passwords per device; implement credential management; apply vendor patches if available; network-segment DCS from untrusted networks.

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. Identify Emerson DeltaV WIOC devices in the environment
    Review asset inventory, network scans, or DeltaV system administration interface to list all Emerson DeltaV Distributed Control System controllers and I/O cards, specifically the Sq Controller, Sx Controller, and SE4xxx I/O terminal blocks.
    Affected if Any Emerson DeltaV DCS controller or I/O device (Sq, Sx, SE4002, SE4003, SE4017, SE4019) is present in the environment.
  2. Check firmware version or build date
    Access the DeltaV system administration interface, device management console, or firmware management system to retrieve the installed firmware version or build date for each identified WIOC device.
    Affected if Firmware version or build date is on or before 2022-04-29.
  3. Verify WIOC SSH service is enabled
    Check the WIOC device configuration settings through the DeltaV administration interface or by accessing the device management console to determine if the SSH service is actively running and accessible.
    Affected if The WIOC SSH service is enabled and listening for connections.
  4. Check SSH access credentials configuration
    Review SSH service configuration files or credential settings within the WIOC device management interface to identify whether default, hardcoded, or static credentials are configured for SSH access.
    Affected if Default or hardcoded SSH credentials (root, DeltaV, or backup accounts) are configured or present in the system.
  5. Assess network exposure of WIOC SSH service
    Perform network scanning to determine if the WIOC SSH port (typically port 22) is accessible from network segments outside the protected control system zone or from untrusted networks.
    Affected if The WIOC SSH service is accessible from non-control system network segments or external networks.

A user is affected if their environment contains any Emerson DeltaV DCS Sq/Sx controller or SE4xxx I/O terminal block with firmware dated 2022-04-29 or earlier, with SSH enabled and hardcoded credentials in use, especially if the SSH service is network-accessible from less-trusted network zones.

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

Replace hardcoded WIOC SSH credentials with strong, unique passwords per device; implement credential management; apply vendor patches if available; network-segment DCS from untrusted networks.

Fix this in Deltav Distributed Control System Sq Controller Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
22.0 hours of engineering $3,860
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Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2022-29964 — 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 sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2022-29964 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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