dbcve.org
IgnitionApplication · Inductiveautomation

CVE-2023-50221

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 →
95/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges

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 ResponseParser SerializedResponse Deserialization of Untrusted Data Remote Code Execution Vulnerability. This vulnerability allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code on affected installations of Inductive Automation Ignition. User interaction is required to exploit this vulnerability in that the target must connect to a malicious server. The specific flaw exists within the ResponseParser method. 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 the current user. Was ZDI-CAN-21926.

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

This is a deserialization vulnerability in Inductive Automation Ignition's ResponseParser component. The flaw stems from lack of proper validation of user-supplied data during deserialization of SerializedResponse, allowing remote attackers to execute arbitrary code by tricking users into connecting to a malicious server.

MitigationRestrict network connections to trusted servers only, implement strict input validation on the ResponseParser to reject untrusted serialized data, and apply vendor patches when available.

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
None
User interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/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. Determine installed Ignition version
    Check the Ignition Gateway version via the web interface (Help > About) or inspect installation configuration files
    Affected if Version is 8.1.0 through 8.1.34 (meaning version >= 8.1.0 but < 8.1.35)
  2. Identify ResponseParser component usage
    Review project configurations, scripts, and modules that utilize the ResponseParser class for handling SerializedResponse data
    Affected if ResponseParser is actively used to deserialize data from external sources in your projects
  3. Assess network exposure
    Audit network configurations and client/gateway settings to determine if connections to untrusted or external servers are possible
    Affected if Ignition can receive SerializedResponse data from untrusted network sources

Environment is affected if running Ignition version 8.1.0-8.1.34 AND the ResponseParser is used to deserialize data from potentially untrusted external sources

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

Restrict network connections to trusted servers only, implement strict input validation on the ResponseParser to reject untrusted serialized data, and apply vendor patches when available.

Recommended fix High confidence

Ignition 8.1.35

  1. Backup your Ignition installation and databases before upgrading
  2. Download Ignition version 8.1.35 from the official Inductive Automation website (security.inductiveautomation.com)
  3. Stop the Ignition service before upgrading
  4. Install or upgrade to Ignition 8.1.35 using the standard installation process
  5. Start the Ignition service after upgrade completes
  6. Verify the upgrade was successful by checking the Ignition version in the Gateway Control Hub or Gateway Web UI
Caveat Minor version patch; standard upgrade precautions (backup) recommended as with any upgrade

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

Fix this in Ignition Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation8.0 h
  • Implementation24.0 h
  • Testing16.0 h
  • Review / QA8.0 h
56.0 hours of engineering $9,760
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $15,616.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-50221 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2023-50221 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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