CVE-2023-3322
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 · uneditedA vulnerability exists by allowing low-privileged users to read and update the data in various directories used by the Zenon system. An attacker could exploit the vulnerability by using specially crafted programs to exploit the vulnerabilities by allowing them to run on the zenon installed hosts. This issue affects ABB Ability™ zenon: from 11 build through 11 build 106404.
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 confidenceLocal authorization vulnerability in ABB Ability zenon SCADA software where low-privileged users can read and write to directories that should be restricted, suggesting inadequate file system access controls or improper permission enforcement in the zenon installation.
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<= 11.0.0CVSS 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
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/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 if ABB zenon is installedCheck for zenon installation directory (commonly C:\Program Files\zenon or C:\Program Files (x86)\zenon) and look for zenon executable files or check Windows Programs and Features for 'zenon' entryAffected if zenon SCADA software is present on the system
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Determine installed zenon versionLocate zenon version information in the installation directory, typically in a file like version.txt, or right-click on the main zenon executable and select Properties > Details, or check the Windows registry under HKLM\SOFTWARE\COPA-DATA\zenonAffected if installed version is 11.0.0 or any lower version number
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Identify zenon system directoriesLocate the main zenon installation folder and identify subdirectories that contain configuration files, scripts, runtime data, and system modules - these are typically under the main zenon install pathAffected if zenon installation directory exists with accessible subdirectories
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Test file system permissions for low-privileged usersCreate or use a test account with limited (non-administrator) privileges, then attempt to navigate to and create/modify files within zenon system directories using that account, or use icacls command (e.g., icacls 'C:\Program Files\zenon') to view effective permissions for limited usersAffected if low-privileged users have write (F), modify (M), or full control permissions on zenon system directories that should be restricted to administrators only
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Compare permissions against hardening guidelinesReview the effective permissions on zenon directories - administrators and the SYSTEM account should have full control, while standard users should typically have only read/execute (RX) or no accessAffected if standard user accounts or low-privileged groups (such as Users orAuthenticated Users) are granted write, modify, or full control access to zenon directories that should be restricted
A system is affected if ABB zenon version 11.0.0 or lower is installed AND low-privileged (non-administrator) users can read from or write to zenon system directories that should be protected.
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 dataApply vendor patch when available; restrict low-privileged user access to zenon system directories and validate proper file permission configurations per vendor hardening guidelines.
- Consultation6.0 h
- Implementation12.0 h
- Testing10.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-3322 — 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-2023-3322 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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