Improper Input ValidationWeakness · CWE-20

CVE-2025-40556

MEDIUM · 6.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-05-13
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
70/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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
A vulnerability has been identified in BACnet ATEC 550-440 (All versions), BACnet ATEC 550-441 (All versions), BACnet ATEC 550-445 (All versions), BACnet ATEC 550-446 (All versions). Affected devices improperly handle specific incoming BACnet MSTP messages. This could allow an attacker residing in the same BACnet network to send a specially crafted MSTP message that results in a denial of service condition of the targeted device. A power cycle is required to restore the device's normal operation.

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

The BACnet ATEC 550 series devices (440, 441, 445, 446) have a vulnerability in their BACnet MSTP message processing. An attacker with network adjacency to the BACnet segment can send specially crafted MSTP frames that cause the device to enter a denial of service state, requiring a power cycle to recover.

MitigationIsolate BACnet network segments and implement strict access controls to prevent unauthorized MSTP traffic. Monitor for anomalous BACnet traffic and coordinate with the vendor for firmware updates.

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
Adjacent
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

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

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

  1. Identify device model
    Query the device via BACnet WhoIs service or check physical device labeling to confirm the exact model number is one of: ATEC 550, ATEC 440, ATEC 441, ATEC 445, or ATEC 446.
    Affected if The device model is any of the ATEC 550 series variants (440, 441, 445, 446).
  2. Verify BACnet protocol is enabled
    Send a BACnet WhoIs request to the device broadcast address (typically 255.255.255.255) on BACnet port 47808 (0xBAC0) and confirm the device responds with its Device ID and network capabilities.
    Affected if BACnet protocol stack is active and the device responds to BACnet queries.
  3. Confirm MSTP transport in use
    Inspect the device BACnet configuration or capture network traffic to verify the transport layer is using MSTP (Master-Slave/Token-Passing) rather than IP (BACnet/IP). MSTP operates over serial RS-485 or similar fieldbus, not over IP.
    Affected if The device is configured to use BACnet MSTP as its transport protocol.
  4. Assess network adjacency exposure
    Determine if the BACnet MSTP segment is accessible to untrusted network segments. Check if the device is on an isolated VLAN or if MSTP frames could be injected from adjacent network paths.
    Affected if The BACnet MSTP segment is reachable from network segments that contain untrusted or unauthorized devices.

If the device is an ATEC 550 series model (440, 441, 445, or 446), has BACnet MSTP enabled, and the BACnet segment is network-adjacent to untrusted systems, the environment is affected by this CVE.

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 BACnet network segments and implement strict access controls to prevent unauthorized MSTP traffic. Monitor for anomalous BACnet traffic and coordinate with the vendor for firmware updates.

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-2025-40556 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
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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