dbcve.org
Industrial Gateway ServerApplication · Ge

CVE-2023-5909

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-11-30
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 7.614 or later.
See remediation →
84/100
Remediation priority · High
Remotely reachable No privileges 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
KEPServerEX does not properly validate certificates from clients which may allow unauthenticated users to connect.

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

KEPServerEX fails to properly validate client certificates during connection establishment, allowing unauthenticated users to establish connections without proper authentication. This certificate validation bypass affects the OPC server's ability to verify client identity.

MitigationEnable and configure proper client certificate validation in KEPServerEX, ensuring the server validates certificate chains, expiration, and revocation. Apply any available vendor patches for CVE-2023-5909.

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
Industrial Gateway ServerApplication
Affected:<= 7.614
KeepserverexApplication
Affected:<= 6.14.263.0
Opc AggregatorApplication
Affected:<= 6.14
Thingworx Industrial ConnectivityApplication
Affected:all versions
Thingworx Kepware EdgeWeb browser
Affected:<= 1.7
Thingworx Kepware ServerApplication
Affected:<= 6.14.263.0
Kepserver EnterpriseApplication
Affected:<= 6.14.263.0
Top ServerApplication
Affected:<= 6.14.263.0

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
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
None
Availability
None

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

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

  1. Identify the installed KEPServerEX-based product
    Check the program name displayed in Windows Programs and Features (Add/Remove Programs) or the server's About/Information dialog. Common names include GE Industrial Gateway Server, PTC KeepserverEX, PTC Thingworx Kepware Server, Rockwell Automation Kepserver Enterprise, or Software ToolBox Top Server.
    Affected if The product name matches one of the affected products listed in the CVE.
  2. Determine the installed version
    Open the server's UI, go to Help > About, or right-click the service in Windows Services and check the executable path. Compare the version number to the affected ranges: <= 7.614 for GE, <= 6.14.263.0 for most PTC versions, <= 1.7 for Thingworx Kepware Edge, all versions for Thingworx Industrial Connectivity, <= 6.14 for PTC OPC Aggregator.
    Affected if The installed version falls within or below the affected version ranges.
  3. Verify OPC UA client certificate validation is enabled
    Open the server configuration (typically via the Administration or Security settings in the UI). Navigate to the OPC UA server settings or security configuration panel. Check whether 'Require certificates from clients' or equivalent client certificate validation option is enabled and configured.
    Affected if Client certificate validation is disabled, set to 'None', or not explicitly configured to require and verify client certificates.
  4. Inspect server security settings for certificate chain validation
    In the OPC UA security settings, look for options related to certificate trust validation, chain verification, expiration checking, and revocation status checking. These are typically found under Security > Certificates or similar menu paths.
    Affected if Certificate chain validation, expiration checks, or revocation checks are disabled or not configured.

You are affected if you have any of the listed products installed with a version at or below the specified thresholds AND client certificate validation is not properly enabled or configured in the OPC server security settings.

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.

From vendor data
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 7.614
Interim mitigation

Enable and configure proper client certificate validation in KEPServerEX, ensuring the server validates certificate chains, expiration, and revocation. Apply any available vendor patches for CVE-2023-5909.

Fix this in Industrial Gateway Server Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
15.0 hours of engineering $2,660
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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-2023-5909 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