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IgnitionApplication · Inductiveautomation

CVE-2023-50218

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-05-03
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 8.1.35 or later.
See remediation →
94/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
High EPSS 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
Inductive Automation Ignition ModuleInvoke Deserialization of Untrusted Data Remote Code Execution Vulnerability. This vulnerability allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code on affected installations of Inductive Automation Ignition. Authentication is required to exploit this vulnerability. The specific flaw exists within the ModuleInvoke class. The issue results from the lack of proper validation of user-supplied data, which can result in deserialization of untrusted data. An attacker can leverage this vulnerability to execute code in the context of SYSTEM. Was ZDI-CAN-21624.

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 confidence

The vulnerability exists in the ModuleInvoke class of Inductive Automation Ignition, where improper validation of user-supplied data allows deserialization of untrusted data. An authenticated attacker can exploit this to achieve remote code execution with SYSTEM privileges.

MitigationApply vendor-provided patches for CVE-2023-50218. Until patched, restrict network access to Ignition management interfaces and enforce strong authentication to reduce 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
IgnitionApplication
Affected:>= 8.1.0, < 8.1.35

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
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/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 if Inductive Automation Ignition is installed
    Look for Ignition installation directories or running services. Common locations include C:\Program Files\Inductive Automation\Ignition on Windows or /var/lib/ignition on Linux. Check for the 'Ignition' service process.
    Affected if Ignition software is present on the system
  2. Determine the installed Ignition version
    Check the version information in the Ignition gateway web interface (Status > System > Overview page), or inspect version files in the installation directory such as 'version.txt' or 'manifest.json' in the installation folder.
    Affected if The installed version is 8.1.0 through 8.1.34 (inclusive)
  3. Verify the ModuleInvoke class is accessible
    The ModuleInvoke endpoint is part of the Ignition Gateway API. Confirm the Ignition Gateway is running and network accessible. This is a core gateway component present in all standard installations.
    Affected if The Ignition Gateway is running and accepting requests on the configured port (default 8088 or 443 for HTTPS)
  4. Confirm authentication status for Gateway access
    Review Gateway security settings via the web interface under Config > Security > Users, Roles, and Zones. Verify whether anonymous access is permitted or if strong authentication is enforced.
    Affected if An authenticated user account exists that can access the Gateway, or anonymous access is enabled (the vulnerability requires authentication but the impact is SYSTEM privileges if any valid credentials are obtained)

You are affected if Inductive Automation Ignition version 8.1.0 through 8.1.34 is installed and the Gateway is accessible, regardless of authentication configuration since authenticated access enables exploitation.

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
Upgrade available Upgrade to 8.1.35 or later
Fixed in 8.1.35
Interim mitigation

Apply vendor-provided patches for CVE-2023-50218. Until patched, restrict network access to Ignition management interfaces and enforce strong authentication to reduce attack surface.

Recommended fix High confidence

Ignition 8.1.35 or later

  1. Create a full backup of the Ignition gateway, including the project and database
  2. Stop the Ignition gateway service before upgrading
  3. Download Ignition version 8.1.35 or later from the official Inductive Automation website (https://inductiveautomation.com/downloads/)
  4. Run the installer and follow the upgrade prompts, pointing to the existing Ignition installation directory
  5. Allow the upgrade to complete and verify the installation succeeds
  6. Start the Ignition gateway service
  7. Log into the Ignition gateway and verify all modules and projects are functioning correctly
  8. Confirm the version shows 8.1.35 or later in the gateway status

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

Fix this in Ignition 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-2023-50218 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