CVE-2023-4420
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 remote unprivileged attacker can intercept the communication via e.g. Man-In-The-Middle, due to the absence of Transport Layer Security (TLS) in the SICK LMS5xx. This lack of encryption in the communication channel can lead to the unauthorized disclosure of sensitive information. The attacker can exploit this weakness to eavesdrop on the communication between the LMS5xx and the Client, and potentially manipulate the data being transmitted.
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 · high confidenceThe SICK LMS5xx industrial sensor lacks Transport Layer Security (TLS) encryption in its communication channel, enabling remote unprivileged attackers to perform man-in-the-middle attacks. This allows eavesdropping on sensitive data transmissions between the device and connected clients, with potential for data manipulation.
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 dataall versionsall versionsall versionsCVSS 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
- High
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/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 the device modelAccess the device web interface or check the device label/console to confirm the exact model number (LMS531, LMS511, or LMS500) and current firmware version.Affected if The device is any model within the LMS5xx series with any firmware version.
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Check TLS/SSL encryption statusLog into the device configuration web interface or CLI and navigate to the network or communication settings. Look for TLS, SSL, or encryption options under the communication or security settings menu.Affected if TLS/SSL encryption is disabled, not configured, or not available in the communication settings.
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Verify communication protocolInspect the device communication protocol configuration to determine if connections are using unencrypted protocols (such as plain HTTP, raw TCP, or proprietary unencrypted protocols).Affected if The device is configured to use unencrypted communication protocols for client data exchange.
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Test network traffic for encryptionUse a network sniffer or capture tool on the segment between the device and a client to observe whether data is transmitted in plaintext (readable) rather than encrypted packets.Affected if Network traffic captured between the sensor and clients shows plaintext data or unencrypted protocol frames.
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Review client connection settingsCheck the client application or integration settings to confirm whether the client is configured to require encrypted connections to the sensor, and whether the device supports or enforces such requirements.Affected if Clients connect without encryption requirements and the device does not enforce TLS as mandatory.
If the SICK LMS5xx device (any model, any firmware version) has TLS/SSL encryption disabled or unavailable in its communication configuration, the environment is affected by this vulnerability.
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 dataEnable TLS/SSL encryption on the SICK LMS5xx to protect communications from interception and tampering. If TLS is not natively supported, consider network segmentation, VPN tunneling, or upgrading to a firmware version that supports encrypted communications.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-4420 — 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-2023-4420 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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