dbcve.org
Sel 451 FirmwareOperating system · Selinc

CVE-2023-34389

MEDIUM · 6.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-11-30
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
71/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable 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
An allocation of resources without limits or throttling vulnerability in the Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories SEL-451 could allow a remote authenticated attacker to make the system unavailable for an indefinite amount of time. See product Instruction Manual Appendix A dated 20230830 for more details.

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

The SEL-451 protection relay contains a resource exhaustion vulnerability where authenticated remote attackers can allocate resources without limits, causing the device to become unavailable. This is a denial-of-service condition exploitable remotely by authenticated users.

MitigationApply vendor firmware updates from Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories (refer to Instruction Manual Appendix A dated 20230830). If patches are unavailable, implement network segmentation and restrict remote authentication access to minimize attack surface.

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
Sel 451 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:>= r315-v0, < r315-v4>= r316-v0, < r316-v4>= r317-v0, < r317-v4>= r318-v0, < r318-v5>= r320-v0, < r320-v3>= r321-v0, < r321-v3>= r322-v0, < r322-v3>= r323-v0, < r323-v5>= r324-v0, < r324-v4>= r325-v0, < r325-v3= r326-v0= r327-v0

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
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify the device model
    Access the SEL-451 relay through its web interface, serial console, or SEL utility software (such as SEL-5037 AcSELerator or SEL-5030 Configurator) and confirm the device model is SEL-451 protection relay
    Affected if The device is not an SEL-451 relay (different product models are not affected by this CVE)
  2. Determine the installed firmware version
    Navigate to the device status or system information page in the web interface, or use the 'FIRMWARE VERSION' command via the serial/USB console connection to retrieve the exact firmware version string
    Affected if The firmware version matches any of the affected ranges: r315-v0 through r315-v3, r316-v0 through r316-v3, r317-v0 through r317-v3, r318-v0 through r318-v4, r320-v0 through r320-v2, r321-v0 through r321-v2, r322-v0 through r322-v2, r323-v0 through r323-v4, r324-v0 through r324-v3, r325-v0 through r3
  3. Verify if remote authentication is enabled
    Check the device authentication settings in the web interface under 'Authentication' or 'User Accounts', or review the SEL-451 configuration file for remote access authentication settings
    Affected if Remote authentication (HTTP/HTTPS, Telnet, or other IP-based access) is enabled, as authenticated remote attackers can exploit the resource exhaustion vulnerability
  4. Confirm network accessibility of the device
    Verify the device has an active IP network interface and is reachable over the network by pinging the device IP address or checking network status in the device configuration
    Affected if The device is network-accessible remotely, as the vulnerability is exploitable by remote authenticated attackers

The environment is affected if the device is an SEL-451 relay running any firmware version listed in the affected ranges AND remote authentication is enabled with network accessibility.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply vendor firmware updates from Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories (refer to Instruction Manual Appendix A dated 20230830). If patches are unavailable, implement network segmentation and restrict remote authentication access to minimize attack surface.

Recommended fix High confidence

r315-v4, r316-v4, r317-v4, or r318-v5 (depending on which branch is in use)

  1. Identify the current firmware version of the SEL-451 device using the SEL-ACM or ACSELERATOR Manager software
  2. Determine which firmware branch (r315, r316, r317, or r318) is currently installed
  3. Download the appropriate fixed firmware version from selinc.com: r315-v4, r316-v4, r317-v4, or r318-v5
  4. Follow the firmware upgrade procedure documented in the SEL-451 Instruction Manual
  5. Verify the upgrade was successful by confirming the new firmware version is running
  6. Ensure the device is accessible and functioning normally after the upgrade

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Sel 451 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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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-2023-34389 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