Cyber Resilience

CVE-2024-51549

Path Traversal in Abb Aspect-Ent-12 Firmware ≤ 3.08.03

Published
05 December 2024
Modified
27 February 2025
Patch / advisory
CVSS Score v4 9.3
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:L/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:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X
EPSS Score 0.0054 43th percentile
Risk Priority 46 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2024-51549 is a critical-severity Absolute Path Traversal (CWE-36) vulnerability in Abb Aspect-Ent-12 Firmware. Its CVSS base score is 9.3 (Critical).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploit Public-Facing Application (T1190); ranked at the 43th 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 AC-3 (Access Enforcement) and SI-10 (Information Input Validation) — see the control section below for these in your framework.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

Absolute File Traversal vulnerabilities allows access and modification of un-intended resources.  Affected products: ABB ASPECT - Enterprise v3.08.02; NEXUS Series v3.08.02; MATRIX Series v3.08.02

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.
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2024-7323Shared CWE-22, CWE-36
CVE-2024-29053Shared CWE-22, CWE-36
CVE-2026-42315Shared CWE-22, CWE-36
CVE-2024-1703Shared CWE-22, CWE-36
CVE-2023-30970Shared CWE-22, CWE-36
CVE-2023-34135Shared CWE-22, CWE-36
CVE-2024-8778Shared CWE-22, CWE-36
CVE-2024-20379Shared CWE-22, CWE-36
CVE-2018-20250Shared CWE-22, CWE-36
CVE-2025-15227Shared CWE-22, CWE-36

Affected Assets

abb
aspect-ent-12 firmware
≤ 3.08.03
abb
aspect-ent-2 firmware
≤ 3.08.03
abb
aspect-ent-256 firmware
≤ 3.08.03
abb
aspect-ent-96 firmware
≤ 3.08.03
abb
nexus-2128 firmware
≤ 3.08.03
abb
nexus-2128-a firmware
≤ 3.08.03
abb
nexus-2128-f firmware
≤ 3.08.03
abb
nexus-2128-g firmware
≤ 3.08.03
abb
nexus-264 firmware
≤ 3.08.03
abb
nexus-264-a firmware
≤ 3.08.03
+9 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)
  • V5.3.2

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

Enforces the intended directory access authorizations that path traversal would otherwise bypass.

Input validation directly stops construction of absolute paths from untrusted data before they reach file operations.

Least privilege reduces the impact of any unauthorized file access obtained via traversal.

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-06 mostly match
prevents

Secure SDLC practices directly require input validation and path sanitization that prevent absolute path traversal.

PR.PS-02 partial match
prevents

Patching/maintenance can remediate known path-traversal flaws in deployed software (partial prevention of exploitability) but does nothing to stop the coding defect from being introduced in the first place.

PR.AA-05 none match
prevents

PR.AA-05 defines and reviews access policies but does not address code-level pathname neutralization, so neither direction prevents CWE-22.

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 in development can detect absolute path traversal via static analysis and fuzzing.

prevents

Secure development lifecycle includes input validation and path-handling requirements that reduce absolute path traversal risk.

prevents

Application security requirements typically mandate controls against path traversal in file-access functions.

prevents

Secure architecture principles call for canonicalization and sandboxing that limit absolute path traversal.

prevents

Secure coding standards directly require neutralization of absolute path sequences in pathname construction.

mitigates

Information access restriction limits which files can be reached but does not address the path-construction flaw itself.

References