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 90 floored blend · peak EPSS

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, ranked in the top 0.9% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to AC-3 (Access Enforcement) and IA-2 (Identification and Authentication (Organizational Users)) — see the control section below for these in your framework.

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

Likely ATT&CK TechniquesAI

Techniques this vulnerability likely enables, inferred from its description, weakness type, and attributed-actor tradecraft. Confidence is per-technique.

T1190 Exploit Public-Facing Application Initial Accessconfidence: HIGH
Authentication bypass in a public-facing web component directly enables remote exploitation of the application without credentials.
T1078 Valid Accounts Stealthconfidence: HIGH
Successful bypass grants attackers valid access equivalent to an authenticated user, allowing use of valid accounts.
T1068 Exploitation for Privilege Escalation Privilege Escalationconfidence: HIGH
Bypassing authentication on a privileged web interface immediately results in privilege escalation to full system control.
inferred from description + CWE · MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise v19.0

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2023-38121Same product: Inductiveautomation Ignition
CVE-2023-38123Same product: Inductiveautomation Ignition
CVE-2023-50233Same product: Inductiveautomation Ignition
CVE-2023-50222Same product: Inductiveautomation Ignition
CVE-2023-38124Same product: Inductiveautomation Ignition
CVE-2023-38122Same product: Inductiveautomation Ignition
CVE-2023-50221Same product: Inductiveautomation Ignition
CVE-2023-50219Same product: Inductiveautomation Ignition
CVE-2023-50232Same product: Inductiveautomation Ignition
CVE-2023-50220Same product: Inductiveautomation Ignition

Affected Assets

inductiveautomation
ignition
8.1.15

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)
  • AC-3 Access Enforcement
  • IA-2 Identification and Authentication (Organizational Users)
  • AC-17 Remote Access
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

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

prevent

Directly enforces approved authorizations (including authentication) before granting access to functionality in components such as com.inductiveautomation.ignition.gateway.web.pages.

prevent

Requires users to be identified and authenticated prior to accessing system functions, directly blocking the unauthenticated remote access path exploited by CVE-2022-35869.

AC-17 Remote Access partial match
prevent

Mandates authorization and configuration controls for all remote connections to the Ignition gateway, limiting the unauthenticated remote exploitation vector.

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.

detects

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.

References