CVE-2022-3461
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 · uneditedIn PHOENIX CONTACT Automationworx Software Suite up to version 1.89 manipulated PC Worx or Config+ files could lead to a heap buffer overflow and a read access violation. Availability, integrity, or confidentiality of an application programming workstation might be compromised by attacks using these vulnerabilities.
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 confidenceIn PHOENIX CONTACT Automationworx Software Suite up to version 1.89, parsing manipulated PC Worx or Config+ files triggers a heap buffer overflow, leading to a read access violation. This memory corruption vulnerability allows attackers to potentially compromise the availability, integrity, or confidentiality of an application programming workstation.
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= 1.89CVSS 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
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify installed version of Automationworx Software SuiteLocate the software in your system's program directory or check Add/Remove Programs. Look for version information in the application properties, about dialog, or installation metadata.Affected if The installed version is 1.89 or any earlier version (e.g., 1.88, 1.87, etc.)
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Confirm the PC Worx or Config+ parsing component is presentVerify the Automationworx Software Suite installation includes the PC Worx or Config+ file handling modules. Check the installation directory for pcworx.exe, config+.exe, or related DLLs.Affected if The software installation includes PC Worx or Config+ parsing capabilities, which are required to trigger the vulnerability
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Determine if the software processes untrusted PC Worx or Config+ filesReview workflows where the software opens, imports, or parses PC Worx (.pwc, .pcw) or Config+ (.csp, .cfx) files from external or network sources.Affected if Users routinely open, import, or process PC Worx or Config+ files from untrusted sources, enabling the attack vector
You are affected if Automationworx Software Suite version 1.89 or earlier is installed and the PC Worx/Config+ file parsing feature is used to open files from potentially untrusted sources.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 dataUpdate PHOENIX CONTACT Automationworx Software Suite to version 1.90 or later to receive the vendor patch for this vulnerability.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA3.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,160.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2022-3461 — 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 sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2022-3461 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- 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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