CVE-2024-13946
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 · uneditedDLL's are not digitally signed when loaded in ASPECT's configuration toolset exposing the application to binary planting during device commissioning.This issue affects ASPECT-Enterprise: through 3.*; NEXUS Series: through 3.*; MATRIX Series: through 3.*.
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 confidenceThe ASPECT configuration toolset loads DLLs without verifying digital signatures, allowing attackers to perform binary planting attacks during device commissioning. An attacker with access to the commissioning process could place malicious DLLs that the application would load instead of legitimate ones.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
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
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- Low
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:L
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 ASPECT configuration toolset installationSearch for the ASPECT configuration toolset application on the system. Check common installation directories (e.g., C:\Program Files\ASPECT, C:\Program Files (x86)\ASPECT) or use system search tools to locate aspect.exe or similar binaries associated with the toolset.Affected if The ASPECT configuration toolset is present on the system and is used for device commissioning.
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Locate the DLL loading configurationExamine the application configuration files (e.g., .config XML files, INI files) or registry entries associated with the ASPECT toolset. Look for settings that control DLL loading behavior, such as assembly bindings or module loading paths.Affected if No digital signature verification is enforced or configured for DLL loading within the toolset.
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Inspect DLL search pathsReview the toolset's directory structure to identify folders from which DLLs are loaded. Check for world-writable directories where an attacker could place malicious DLLs (e.g., the application directory, working directory, or commissioning data folders).Affected if The toolset loads DLLs from directories accessible to attackers or uses relative paths without verification.
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Check for signature verification in loading logicIf access to the toolset's executable or helper libraries is available, inspect the code or binary for digital signature verification calls (e.g., WinVerifyTrust, SignerFree, CryptQueryObject) before LoadLibrary or similar DLL loading functions.Affected if The code contains no signature verification logic before loading DLLs.
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Review commissioning workflowExamine the device commissioning process documentation or workflow. Identify if the process involves copying or loading external DLL files onto the device or configuration workstation, and verify whether those files are validated before use.Affected if The commissioning process loads external DLLs without requiring or verifying digital signatures.
The user is affected if the ASPECT configuration toolset is installed and loads DLLs without verifying digital signatures, particularly during the device commissioning workflow.
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 dataImplement digital code signing for all DLLs in the build process and add signature verification logic before loading any DLL in the configuration toolset.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,120.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2024-13946 — 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-2024-13946 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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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.
- 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