Development SystemApplication · Codesys

CVE-2026-44468

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-05-26
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 3.5.22.20 or later.
See remediation →
80/100
Remediation priority · High
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
The affected product creates a directory with insecure default permissions during administrative installation. This allows a low-privileged local attacker to modify a temporary file defining the components to be installed, enabling local privilege escalation by forcing the deployment of arbitrary components.

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 affected product creates a directory with insecure default permissions during administrative installation. A low-privileged local attacker can modify a temporary file that defines which components will be installed, allowing them to force installation of arbitrary components and achieve local privilege escalation.

MitigationFix the default directory permissions during administrative installation and ensure temporary installation files are protected from unauthorized modification by low-privileged users.

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
Development SystemApplication
Affected:< 3.5.22.20

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
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/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. Verify Codesys Development System is installed
    Check for Codesys installation by searching for the product in system program directories or registry (Windows: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall, or look in C:\Program Files\3S Software or similar paths).
    Affected if Codesys Development System is found on the system
  2. Check installed version against affected range
    Locate and read the version information (typically in About or Help menu of the application, or check installer logs/product metadata). Compare the version number to 3.5.22.20.
    Affected if Installed version is lower than 3.5.22.20
  3. Identify the administrative installation directory
    Check the installation location used when Codesys was installed with administrative/elevated privileges. Common locations include the installation root directory or a designated component staging directory created during setup.
    Affected if A Codesys installation directory exists from a prior administrative install
  4. Inspect directory permissions for insecurity
    Use OS-native commands to examine the permissions on the identified installation directory (Windows: right-click > Properties > Security, or run icacls in Command Prompt). Look for Everyone, Users, or other broad group permissions with Write or Modify access.
    Affected if The directory grants Write or Modify permissions to non-privileged users or groups such as Everyone or Users
  5. Check for modifiable temporary installation files
    Search the installation directory for temporary files related to component selection or installation configuration (common patterns include *.tmp, install*.xml, or component manifest files). Verify write permissions on these files.
    Affected if Temporary installation configuration files are present and writable by low-privileged users

Affected if Codesys Development System version below 3.5.22.20 is installed with an administrative installation directory that has insecure permissions allowing low-privileged users to modify component installation files.

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
Upgrade available Upgrade to 3.5.22.20 or later
Fixed in 3.5.22.20
Interim mitigation

Fix the default directory permissions during administrative installation and ensure temporary installation files are protected from unauthorized modification by low-privileged users.

Fix this in Development System Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
14.0 hours of engineering $2,490
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,984.

Scan for this in your stack

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dbcve dependency scanner

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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-2026-44468 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
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data