CWE-256Weakness · CWE-256

CVE-2024-36081

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-05-19
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
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
Westermo EDW-100 devices through 2024-05-03 allow an unauthenticated user to download a configuration file containing a cleartext password. NOTE: this is a serial-to-Ethernet converter that should not be placed at the edge of the network.

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

The Westermo EDW-100 serial-to-Ethernet converter has an unauthenticated information disclosure vulnerability allowing any user to download the device configuration file, which contains passwords stored in cleartext. This gives attackers immediate access to credentials without any authentication or exploitation. The CVSS 9.8 score reflects the trivial exploitability and complete confidentiality impact.

MitigationIsolate the device behind a firewall with no direct external access, contact Westermo for firmware updates that address the cleartext password storage and unauthenticated configuration download, and immediately rotate any credentials that may have been exposed. Network segmentation is critical given the note that this device should not be at the network edge.

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
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 checks

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

  1. Confirm device is Westermo EDW-100
    Identify the device model through device labeling, web interface, or SNMP sysDescr query
    Affected if The device is a Westermo EDW-100 serial-to-Ethernet converter
  2. Assess network accessibility
    Determine if the device management interface is reachable from untrusted networks or directly from the internet
    Affected if Device is exposed without firewall or network segmentation
  3. Test unauthenticated config download
    Attempt to access the device configuration download or backup function without providing any credentials
    Affected if Configuration file can be retrieved without any authentication
  4. Inspect config for cleartext passwords
    Open any retrieved configuration file and examine password fields or credential entries
    Affected if Passwords or sensitive credentials are stored in plaintext within the configuration

The environment is affected if the device is a Westermo EDW-100 and its configuration file containing cleartext passwords can be downloaded by an unauthenticated user.

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
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Isolate the device behind a firewall with no direct external access, contact Westermo for firmware updates that address the cleartext password storage and unauthenticated configuration download, and immediately rotate any credentials that may have been exposed. Network segmentation is critical given the note that this device should not be at the network edge.

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,200
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Scan for this in your stack

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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-2024-36081 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
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