CVE-2022-34837
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 · uneditedStoring Passwords in a Recoverable Format vulnerability in ABB Zenon 8.20 allows an attacker who successfully exploit the vulnerability may add more network clients that may monitor various activities of the Zenon.
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 confidenceABB Zenon 8.20 stores user passwords in a recoverable (reversible) encryption format rather than using proper cryptographic hashing. This allows an attacker with database or file system access to recover plaintext passwords. The CVSS 6.1 score reflects low complexity and network adjacency requirements, with high confidentiality impact since exposed passwords can be reused for further compromise.
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<= 8.20CVSS 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
- Low
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:L/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify ABB Zenon installation and versionCheck the installed Zenon version through the Windows Add/Remove Programs list, or look for Zenon installation directories (typically under C:\Program Files\COPA-DATA\ or C:\Program Files\ABB\) and locate version information in About or readme filesAffected if Version is 8.20 or lower (any version up to and including 8.20)
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Locate Zenon user credential storageIdentify database files (SQLite, SQL Compact, or other DB files) or configuration XML/ini files in the Zenon installation directory or program data folders that store user account informationAffected if User credential storage files exist in the Zenon directory structure or associated databases
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Examine password storage formatOpen or query the user database/credential file and inspect the password field values. Determine whether passwords appear as: (a) plaintext, (b) encrypted (reversible algorithm), or (c) hashed (one-way function)Affected if Passwords are stored in an encrypted reversible format rather than using one-way cryptographic hash functions
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Check file system and database access controlsReview file system permissions on Zenon configuration and database directories. Determine whether unauthorized users or processes can read these sensitive credential filesAffected if World-readable permissions or weak ACLs exist on credential storage files, allowing database or file system access to low-privilege users
You are affected if ABB Zenon version 8.20 or lower is installed and user passwords are stored in a reversible encryption format (not one-way hashed) in accessible database or configuration files.
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 dataMigrate password storage to proper salted hashing (e.g., bcrypt, Argon2, scrypt) and implement least-privilege access controls to prevent unauthorized addition of network monitoring clients.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation16.0 h
- Testing8.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $8,960.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2022-34837 — 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-2022-34837 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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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.
- 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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