dbcve.org
Code InjectionWeakness · CWE-94

CVE-2026-4681

CRITICAL · 9.3 CVSS v4.0 Published 2026-03-23
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
A critical remote code execution (RCE) vulnerability has been reported in PTC Windchill and PTC FlexPLM. The vulnerability may be exploited through the deserialization of untrusted data. This issue affects Windchill PDMLink: 11.0 M030, 11.1 M020, 11.2.1.0, 12.0.2.0, 12.1.2.0, 13.0.2.0, 13.1.0.0, 13.1.1.0, 13.1.2.0, 13.1.3.0; FlexPLM: 11.0 M030, 11.1 M020, 11.2.1.0, 12.0.0.0, 12.0.2.0, 12.0.3.0, 12.1.2.0, 12.1.3.0, 13.0.2.0, 13.0.3.0.

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

A critical deserialization vulnerability in PTC Windchill and PTC FlexPLM allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code by sending crafted serialized objects. The flaw stems from unsafe deserialization of untrusted data without proper validation, enabling complete system compromise.

MitigationApply vendor-supplied patches from PTC immediately. Until patches are deployed, restrict network access to affected endpoints and implement WAF rules to block suspicious deserialization payloads.

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
Authentication
Y
User interaction
None
Scope
X

CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:L/SI:L/SA:L/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:Y/R:U/V:C/RE:M/U:Red

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 installed PTC products
    Review installed software on the system to determine if PTC Windchill or PTC FlexPLM is present. Check program files, application directories, or use system inventory tools to list PTC-branded applications.
    Affected if Either PTC Windchill or PTC FlexPLM is installed on the system
  2. Determine product version
    Locate the version information for the installed PTC product. Check the product's About dialog, installation directory for version files, or use the product's built-in version command if available.
    Affected if The installed version matches or falls within the affected version ranges for this CVE (compare to vendor advisories)
  3. Verify deserialization endpoint exposure
    Identify network services or web endpoints within the PTC application that accept serialized objects. Review application configuration files, exposed web services, and API endpoints that handle object deserialization.
    Affected if The application exposes any endpoints that accept serialized Java objects or similar data without explicit validation
  4. Check network accessibility
    Determine if the affected PTC services are accessible from the network. Use port scanning or review firewall rules to identify which network interfaces and ports the application listens on.
    Affected if The vulnerable deserialization endpoints are reachable over the network from untrusted sources
  5. Review application configuration
    Examine the PTC application configuration for settings related to deserialization, object handling, or Java remoting. Look for configuration files in the product's config directory that control these features.
    Affected if The application configuration allows deserialization of untrusted data without additional validation layers

A system is affected if it runs PTC Windchill or PTC FlexPLM with a vulnerable version and has network-accessible deserialization endpoints that process untrusted data.

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

Apply vendor-supplied patches from PTC immediately. Until patches are deployed, restrict network access to affected endpoints and implement WAF rules to block suspicious deserialization payloads.

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation6.0 h
  • Implementation12.0 h
  • Testing10.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
32.0 hours of engineering $5,580
Get help mitigating

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $8,928.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2026-4681 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2026-4681 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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