CVE-2024-21920
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 · uneditedA memory buffer vulnerability in Rockwell Automation Arena Simulation could potentially let a threat actor read beyond the intended memory boundaries. This could reveal sensitive information and even cause the application to crash, resulting in a denial-of-service condition. To trigger this, the user would unwittingly need to open a malicious file shared by the threat actor.
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 confidenceAn out-of-bounds read vulnerability exists in Rockwell Automation Arena Simulation software's file parsing functionality. By crafting a malicious file (likely an Arena model or simulation file), an attacker can trigger the application to read beyond allocated memory buffers, potentially exposing sensitive data from memory and causing application crashes leading to denial-of-service.
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>= 16.00.00CVSS 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
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/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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Verify Arena Simulation software is installedCheck system for Rockwell Automation Arena installation. Common installation paths: C:\Program Files\Rockwell Software\Arena\ or check Windows Programs and Features. Use command: dir /s "C:\Program Files\Rockwell*" or search for arena.exeAffected if Arena Simulation software is found on the system
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Identify installed Arena versionRight-click arena.exe in the installation folder, select Properties, then Details tab to view File Version. Alternatively, open Arena and go to Help > About to see the version number.Affected if Version is 16.00.00 or higher
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Confirm file parsing functionality is in useArena is a simulation software that processes .asm, .pln, and other model/simulation files as its primary function. Verify if users create, open, or process simulation model files.Affected if The software is used to open or process simulation model files (this is the core function of Arena)
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Review file handling practicesAudit whether the system or its users open Arena files from external, untrusted, or unknown sources such as email attachments, downloads, or shared network locations.Affected if Users routinely open Arena files from untrusted or unknown sources without sandboxing or scanning
If Arena Simulation software version 16.00.00 or higher is installed and users process simulation model files (especially from untrusted sources), the environment is potentially affected by this out-of-bounds read vulnerability.
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 dataUsers should not open files from untrusted or unknown sources. Organizations should implement file sandboxing or email gateway scanning to block malicious file attachments. Apply vendor patches when released. Consider network segmentation to limit exposure.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2024-21920 — 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-2024-21920 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
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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