CVE-2023-4486
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 · uneditedUnder certain circumstances, invalid authentication credentials could be sent to the login endpoint of Johnson Controls Metasys NAE55, SNE, and SNC engines prior to versions 11.0.6 and 12.0.4 and Facility Explorer F4-SNC engines prior to versions 11.0.6 and 12.0.4 to cause denial-of-service.
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 confidenceThis vulnerability in Johnson Controls Metasys NAE55, SNE, and SNC engines (versions prior to 11.0.6 and 12.0.4) and Facility Explorer F4-SNC engines allows an attacker to cause denial-of-service by sending invalid authentication credentials to the login endpoint under certain circumstances. The flaw appears to be in how the login endpoint handles malformed or invalid credential submissions, leading to a DoS condition.
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< 12.0.4< 12.0.4< 12.0.4< 12.0.4< 12.0.4< 12.0.4< 12.0.4< 12.0.4CVSS 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
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify the Metasys engine modelLocate the physical device label or access the device web interface to confirm the model (NAE55, SNE22000, SNE11000, SNE10500, SNE110L0, SNC25150, SNC16120, or F4-SNC)Affected if The device is any of these models and the firmware version is below the fixed release
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Check the installed firmware versionAccess the device web interface (System > About or System Information page) or use the administrative CLI to view the firmware versionAffected if The firmware version is below 11.0.6 or below 12.0.4 (both are fixed versions)
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Confirm network exposure of the login endpointCheck the network configuration to determine if the device web interface (login endpoint) is accessible from untrusted networksAffected if The login endpoint is exposed to the internet or untrusted segments and the firmware is unpatched
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Review authentication logs for DoS indicatorsAccess the device audit or security logs (typically via the Metasys ADS/ADX or device web interface) and search for patterns of failed login attempts or service disruptionsAffected if Logs show repeated authentication failures causing service instability or denial-of-service events
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Check system availability during authentication testingIf authorized, attempt a series of invalid credential submissions to the login endpoint while monitoring device responsivenessAffected if The device becomes unresponsive or experiences service interruption when invalid credentials are submitted
You are affected if your device is a Metasys NAE55, SNE, or SNC engine (or Facility Explorer F4-SNC) running firmware below version 11.0.6 or 12.0.4 and the login endpoint is network-accessible.
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.
dbcve · scoped12.0.4
Upgrade Metasys NAE55, SNE, and SNC engines to version 11.0.6 or 12.0.4 or later, and similarly upgrade Facility Explorer F4-SNC engines to the fixed versions. Apply network segmentation and monitoring around the login endpoint as an interim measure.
12.0.4 (or 11.0.6 as alternative)
- 1. Identify the specific Metasys engine model (NAE55, SNE22000, SNE11000, SNE10500, SNE110L0, SNC25150, or SNC16120) in your environment
- 2. Check the current firmware version running on the device
- 3. Obtain the fixed firmware version 12.0.4 (or 11.0.6 as an alternative) from the official Johnson Controls support portal or CISA advisories
- 4. Review Johnson Controls installation and upgrade documentation before proceeding
- 5. Apply the firmware upgrade following the vendor's recommended procedure
- 6. After upgrade, verify the device is operational and running version 12.0.4 or 11.0.6
- 7. Confirm the denial-of-service vulnerability is no longer reproducible with invalid authentication attempts
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-4486 — 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-2023-4486 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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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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