Cyber Resilience

CVE-2024-28133

LPE in Phoenixcontact Charx Sec-3000 Firmware ≤ 1.5.1

LPE
Published
14 May 2024
Modified
23 January 2025
CVSS Score v3.1 7.8
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.0038 31th percentile
Risk Priority 57 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2024-28133 is a high-severity Untrusted Search Path (CWE-426) vulnerability in Phoenixcontact Charx Sec-3000 Firmware. Its CVSS base score is 7.8 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Path Interception (T1034); ranked at the 31th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to CM-6 (Configuration Settings) and CM-7 (Least Functionality) — see the control section below for these in your framework.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

A08:2025 Software or Data Integrity Failures

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

A local low privileged attacker can use an untrusted search path in a CHARX system utility to gain root privileges. 

CWE(s)
CWE-426

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1034 Path Interception Persistence
**This technique has been deprecated.
attack.mitre.org →
T1574 Hijack Execution Flow Stealth
Adversaries may execute their own malicious payloads by hijacking the way operating systems run programs.
attack.mitre.org →
T1574.001 DLL Stealth
Adversaries may abuse dynamic-link library files (DLLs) in order to achieve persistence, escalate privileges, and evade defenses.
attack.mitre.org →
T1574.008 Path Interception by Search Order Hijacking Stealth
Adversaries may execute their own malicious payloads by hijacking the search order used to load other programs.
attack.mitre.org →
T1574.007 Path Interception by PATH Environment Variable Stealth
Adversaries may execute their own malicious payloads by hijacking environment variables used to load libraries.
attack.mitre.org →
T1574.009 Path Interception by Unquoted Path Stealth
Adversaries may execute their own malicious payloads by hijacking vulnerable file path references.
attack.mitre.org →
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2024-28137Same product: Phoenixcontact Charx Sec-3000
CVE-2025-24006Same product: Phoenixcontact Charx Sec-3000
CVE-2025-25270Same product: Phoenixcontact Charx Sec-3000
CVE-2024-26000Same product: Phoenixcontact Charx Sec-3000
CVE-2024-25998Same product: Phoenixcontact Charx Sec-3000
CVE-2024-25995Same product: Phoenixcontact Charx Sec-3000
CVE-2024-26004Same product: Phoenixcontact Charx Sec-3000
CVE-2025-24003Same product: Phoenixcontact Charx Sec-3000
CVE-2025-24002Same product: Phoenixcontact Charx Sec-3000
CVE-2024-3913Same product: Phoenixcontact Charx Sec-3000

Affected Assets

phoenixcontact
charx sec-3000 firmware
≤ 1.5.1
phoenixcontact
charx sec-3050 firmware
≤ 1.5.1
phoenixcontact
charx sec-3100 firmware
≤ 1.5.1
phoenixcontact
charx sec-3150 firmware
≤ 1.5.1

Mitigating Controls

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

CM-6 Configuration Settings good match

Secure baseline settings can enforce absolute, organization-controlled paths for critical resources.

CM-7 Least Functionality partial match

Least-functionality configuration can prohibit unapproved directories or executables from being reachable via search paths.

SA-8 Security and Privacy Engineering Principles partial match

Engineering principles such as trusted paths, complete mediation, and least privilege directly require hard-coded or validated search paths instead of external ones.

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.PS-05 full match
prevents

Preventing execution of unauthorized code directly blocks the malicious binaries that an untrusted search path would load.

PR.PS-06 mostly match
prevents

Secure development practices include avoiding or sanitizing externally influenced search paths in application code.

PR.PS-01 partial match
prevents

Hardened configuration baselines can enforce safe search paths and restrict environment variables that enable the weakness.

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.

A.8.29 Security testing in development and acceptance mostly match
finds

Security testing can discover search-path issues but does not itself prevent them in production code.

A.8.19 Installation of software on operational systems partial match
degrades

Restricting software installation reduces the chance that untrusted binaries or libraries are placed in search paths.

A.8.27 Secure system architecture and engineering principles partial match
prevents

Secure architecture principles include hard-coded or validated search paths and avoiding reliance on untrusted directories.

A.8.28 Secure coding partial match
prevents

Secure coding standards require absolute paths or integrity-checked search paths, directly mitigating CWE-426.

A.8.32 Change management none match
none

Change-management processes can enforce review of path-handling changes, indirectly lowering risk.

References