Cyber Resilience

CVE-2022-35869

Auth Bypass in Inductiveautomation Ignition 8.1.15

High EPSSAuth Bypass
Published
25 July 2022
Modified
21 November 2024
Patch / advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 9.8
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.60 99.1th percentile
Risk Priority 94 floored blend · peak EPSS

CVSS and EPSS are reproduced from their sources (NVD, FIRST EPSS). Risk Priority is our own derived reading, not an NVD score.

Summary

CVE-2022-35869 is a critical-severity Authentication Bypass Using an Alternate Path or Channel (CWE-288) vulnerability in Inductiveautomation Ignition. Its CVSS base score is 9.8 (Critical).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploit Public-Facing Application (T1190); ranked in the top 0.9% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary

Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.

This vulnerability is an authentication bypass flaw in Inductive Automation Ignition version 8.1.15 (build b2022030114). It resides in the com.inductiveautomation.ignition.gateway.web.pages component and stems from missing authentication checks before granting access to functionality, as tracked under CWE-288. The issue carries a CVSS 3.1 score of 9.8 and was originally reported as ZDI-CAN-17211.

Remote attackers can exploit the flaw without any credentials or user interaction to bypass authentication entirely on affected installations. Successful exploitation grants attackers full control over the system, resulting in high impact to confidentiality, integrity, and availability.

Advisories from the Zero Day Initiative and Inductive Automation address the issue in the context of Pwn2Own 2022 findings, with mitigation details and updates referenced at the vendor support portal and ZDI-22-1016.

The EPSS score rose materially from a low baseline to a peak of 0.1434 on 2025-01-22 before receding to 0.0256, indicating that exploitation interest emerged well after the 2022 disclosure and that the CVE merits renewed attention.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

This vulnerability allows remote attackers to bypass authentication on affected installations of Inductive Automation Ignition 8.1.15 (b2022030114). Authentication is not required to exploit this vulnerability. The specific flaw exists within com.inductiveautomation.ignition.gateway.web.pages. The issue results from the lack of proper authentication…

more

prior to access to functionality. An attacker can leverage this vulnerability to bypass authentication on the system. Was ZDI-CAN-17211.

CWE(s)

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1190 Exploit Public-Facing Application Initial Access
Adversaries may attempt to exploit a weakness in an Internet-facing host or system to initially access a network.
T1211 Exploitation for Stealth Stealth
Adversaries may exploit vulnerabilities to evade detection by hiding activity, suppressing logging, or operating within trusted or unmonitored components.
T1542.002 Component Firmware Stealth
Adversaries may modify component firmware to persist on systems.
T1556 Modify Authentication Process Defense Impairment
Adversaries may modify authentication mechanisms and processes to access user credentials or enable otherwise unwarranted access to accounts.
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2023-50233Same product: Inductiveautomation Ignition
CVE-2023-38124Same product: Inductiveautomation Ignition
CVE-2023-38123Same product: Inductiveautomation Ignition
CVE-2023-50221Same product: Inductiveautomation Ignition
CVE-2023-39472Same product: Inductiveautomation Ignition
CVE-2023-50218Same product: Inductiveautomation Ignition
CVE-2023-50223Same product: Inductiveautomation Ignition
CVE-2023-39475Same product: Inductiveautomation Ignition
CVE-2025-13913Same product: Inductiveautomation Ignition
CVE-2023-39476Same product: Inductiveautomation Ignition

Affected Assets

inductiveautomation
ignition
8.1.15

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

—

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

—

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)
  • 7 hardening rules · 3 OS baselines
Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • V6.4.3
  • V6.6.1
  • V12.1.3

Likely Mitigating Controls AI

Per-CVE control mapping for this CVE has not run yet; the list below is derived from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry.

addresses: CWE-288

Authorizing remote access reduces the ability to bypass authentication via unauthorized alternate remote channels.

addresses: CWE-288

Users can identify logons via alternate paths or channels by reviewing the previous logon time.

addresses: CWE-288

Adaptive requirements can apply across access paths, reducing the ability to bypass authentication via alternate channels or paths.

addresses: CWE-288

Centralized IdPs close alternate authentication paths that enable bypass.

addresses: CWE-288

Enforces authentication for non-organizational users, making it harder to bypass via alternate paths or channels.

addresses: CWE-288

Requires authentication to occur exclusively over the isolated trusted path, directly preventing bypass via alternate or untrusted channels.

Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

PR.AA-03 full match
prevents

Requiring authentication on every channel and path directly eliminates alternate-path bypasses.

PR.AA-05 mostly match
prevents

Enforcing authorizations and least privilege across all access vectors prevents unauthenticated alternate paths.

PR.IR-01 mostly match
prevents

Protecting networks and environments from unauthorized logical access blocks bypass via undocumented channels.

Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

finds

Security testing can detect alternate-path bypasses but does not prevent them in production.

degrades

Secure authentication control directly mitigates bypass by requiring strong, consistent authentication on all paths.

prevents

Access control policy directly addresses alternate authentication paths by requiring all channels to enforce authentication.

degrades

Authentication information management ensures credentials and mechanisms are consistently applied across all access paths.

prevents

Access rights provisioning and review prevent bypass via unmonitored or alternate channels.

prevents

Privileged access rights control reduces risk of bypass through elevated or alternate paths.

Hardening callouts derived

Configuration rules from DISA STIG baselines that bear on weaknesses of the type cited by this CVE. Each rule is shown with the relationship its mapping actually records, against the CWE it was authored against. Derived via CVE→CWE over `controls_xwalks` (authoritative rows only; rows rated `none` are excluded).

Oracle Linux 8 (2 rules)
  • V-248598 There must be no ".shosts" files on the OL 8 operating system. prevents CWE-288
  • V-248827 OL 8 must not have the rsh-server package installed. prevents CWE-288
Oracle Linux 9 (2 rules)
  • V-271757 OL 9 file systems must not contain shosts.equiv files. prevents CWE-288
  • V-271758 OL 9 file systems must not contain .shosts files. prevents CWE-288
RHEL 7 (3 rules)
  • V-204440 Red Hat Enterprise Linux operating systems version 7.2 or newer using Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) must require authentication upon booting into single-user and maintenance modes. prevents CWE-288
  • V-204442 The Red Hat Enterprise Linux operating system must not have the rsh-server package installed. prevents CWE-288
  • V-204424 The Red Hat Enterprise Linux operating system must not allow accounts configured with blank or null passwords. prevents CWE-288

References