Security Resilience

CVE-2023-1424

Memory Safety in Mitsubishielectric Melsec Iq-Fx5U-32Mr\/Ds Firmware

Published
24 May 2023
Modified
21 November 2024
Patch / advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 10.0
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.034 89th percentile
Risk Priority 80 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-2023-1424 is a critical-severity Classic Buffer Overflow (CWE-120) vulnerability in Mitsubishielectric Melsec Iq-Fx5U-32Mr\/Ds Firmware. Its CVSS base score is 10.0 (Critical).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique NTDS (T1003.003); ranked in the top 11% 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.

CVE-2023-1424 is a classic buffer overflow vulnerability (CWE-120) affecting Mitsubishi Electric MELSEC iQ-F Series and MELSEC iQ-R Series CPU modules. The flaw permits a remote attacker to send specially crafted packets that trigger memory corruption, leading to either a denial-of-service condition or arbitrary code execution on the target device. Recovery from a DoS state requires a manual system reset of the affected module.

An unauthenticated attacker with network access can exploit the issue without user interaction or credentials, achieving either persistent disruption or full control over the PLC. The vulnerability carries a CVSS 3.1 base score of 10.0, reflecting its network-exposable nature and the high impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability within an industrial control system context.

Vendor and government advisories, including Mitsubishi Electric’s security bulletin 2023-003 and CISA ICSA-23-143-03, provide mitigation guidance and are available at the referenced URLs. The EPSS score rose from a low baseline to a peak of 0.0500 on 2025-01-22 before receding to its current value of 0.0276, indicating a measurable increase in observed exploitation interest well after initial disclosure.

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

Buffer Copy without Checking Size of Input ('Classic Buffer Overflow') vulnerability in Mitsubishi Electric Corporation MELSEC iQ-F Series CPU modules and MELSEC iQ-R Series CPU modules allows a remote unauthenticated attacker to cause a denial of service (DoS) condition or…

more

execute malicious code on a target product by sending specially crafted packets. A system reset of the product is required for recovery from a denial of service (DoS) condition and malicious code execution.

CWE(s)

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1003.003 NTDS Credential Access
Adversaries may attempt to access or create a copy of the Active Directory domain database in order to steal credential information, as well as obtain other information about domain members such as devices, users, and access rights.
T1003.004 LSA Secrets Credential Access
Adversaries with SYSTEM access to a host may attempt to access Local Security Authority (LSA) secrets, which can contain a variety of different credential materials, such as credentials for service accounts.
T1003.006 DCSync Credential Access
Adversaries may attempt to access credentials and other sensitive information by abusing a Windows Domain Controller's application programming interface (API)(Citation: Microsoft DRSR Dec 2017) (Citation: Microsoft GetNCCChanges) (Citati…
T1003.008 /etc/passwd and /etc/shadow Credential Access
Adversaries may attempt to dump the contents of <code>/etc/passwd</code> and <code>/etc/shadow</code> to enable offline password cracking.
T1010 Application Window Discovery Discovery
Adversaries may attempt to get a listing of open application windows.
T1012 Query Registry Discovery
Adversaries may interact with the Windows Registry to gather information about the system, configuration, and installed software.
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2023-3346Same vendor: Mitsubishielectric
CVE-2023-51888Shared CWE-120
CVE-2023-39666Shared CWE-120
CVE-2025-29362Shared CWE-120
CVE-2024-45541Shared CWE-120
CVE-2023-49993Shared CWE-120
CVE-2024-48982Shared CWE-120
CVE-2024-37184Shared CWE-120
CVE-2024-9088Shared CWE-120
CVE-2026-31060Shared CWE-120

Affected Assets

mitsubishielectric
melsec iq-fx5u-32mr\/ds firmware
all versions
mitsubishielectric
melsec iq-fx5u-32mr\/dss firmware
all versions
mitsubishielectric
melsec iq-fx5u-32mr\/es firmware
all versions
mitsubishielectric
melsec iq-fx5u-32mr\/ess firmware
all versions
mitsubishielectric
melsec iq-fx5u-32mt\/ds firmware
all versions
mitsubishielectric
melsec iq-fx5u-32mt\/dss firmware
all versions
mitsubishielectric
melsec iq-fx5u-32mt\/es firmware
all versions
mitsubishielectric
melsec iq-fx5u-32mt\/ess firmware
all versions
mitsubishielectric
melsec iq-fx5u-64mr\/ds firmware
all versions
mitsubishielectric
melsec iq-fx5u-64mr\/dss firmware
all versions
+29 more product configuration(s) — see NVD for full list

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

—

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

—

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)

—

Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • V5.2.1

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-120

Platform-independent managed code eliminates the need for unchecked native buffer copies that are the root cause of classic buffer overflows.

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.

ID.RA-01 partial match
blocks

Vulnerability identification processes such as code review or scanning detect classic buffer overflows before exploitation.

PR.PS-02 partial match
blocks

Routine patching replaces vulnerable code containing unchecked buffer copies with corrected versions.

PR.PS-06 partial match
blocks

Secure development practices directly enforce bounds checking and input validation that prevent classic buffer overflows.

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.

removes
removes
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References