CVE-2023-7243
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 · uneditedIndustrial Control Systems Network Protocol Parsers (ICSNPP) - Ethercat Zeek Plugin versions d78dda6 and prior are vulnerable to out-of-bounds write while analyzing specific Ethercat datagrams. This could allow an attacker to cause arbitrary code execution.
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 confidenceThe ICSNPP Ethercat Zeek plugin versions d78dda6 and prior contains an out-of-bounds write vulnerability when parsing specific Ethercat datagrams. This is a memory corruption vulnerability in the protocol parser that could allow an attacker to achieve arbitrary code execution by sending specially crafted Ethercat network traffic.
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<= d78dda6CVSS 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
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Locate the ICSNPP Ethercat plugin installationSearch for the 'ICSNPP-EtherCAT' or 'icsnpp-ethercat' plugin directory in common Zeek plugin paths such as /opt/zeek/lib/zeek/plugins/, /usr/local/lib/zeek/plugins/, or the current working directory when Zeek runs. Look for directories containing 'ethercat' in the name.Affected if The plugin directory is found and contains the Ethercat parser files.
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Determine the installed plugin versionInspect the plugin metadata file for version information. Check for a VERSION file, package.json, zkg.meta, or similar files within the plugin directory that indicate the commit hash or version number. The affected version is identified by commit d78dda6 or earlier.Affected if The version/commit hash is d78dda6 or earlier, or no version file exists but the plugin is present.
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Verify the plugin is loaded by ZeekRun 'zeek -N' or check Zeek logs to confirm the ICSNPP Ethercat plugin is actively loaded. Look for 'ICSNPP::EtherCAT' or similar in the list of loaded plugins.Affected if The plugin appears in the list of loaded Zeek plugins.
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Confirm Zeek is processing Ethercat trafficReview Zeek logs (such as notice.log, ethercat.log) or capture files to determine if Zeek is actively parsing Ethercat protocol traffic. The vulnerability triggers when parsing specifically crafted Ethercat datagrams.Affected if Zeek is actively processing Ethercat network traffic on the monitored interface.
A system is affected if the ICSNPP Ethercat plugin is installed, loaded, processing Ethercat traffic, and the version is at or before commit d78dda6.
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 dataUpdate the ICSNPP Ethercat Zeek plugin to a version newer than d78dda6 when available. Until then, restrict network exposure of Zeek sensors and consider filtering untrusted Ethercat traffic at network boundaries.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-7243 — 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-2023-7243 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
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