What is the CVSS score of CVE-2012-6438?

CVE-2012-6438 has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.5 (High). CVSS vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H. EPSS exploitation probability: 13.4%.

Controllogix Controllers CVE-2012-6438

HIGH

Buffer Overflow (CWE-119)

2013-01-24 ics-cert@hq.dhs.gov

Buffer Overflow Rockwell Controllogix Controllers Guardlogix Controllers Micrologix Softlogix Controllers 1756 Enbt 1756 Eweb 1768 Enbt 1768 Eweb 1794 Aentr Flex I O Ethernet Ip Adapter Compactlogix Compactlogix Controllers Compactlogix L32E Controller Compactlogix L35E Controller Controllogix Flexlogix 1788 Enbt Adapter Guardlogix Softlogix Rockwellautomation

7.5

CVSS 3.1 · NVD

Severity by source

NVD PRIMARY

7.5 HIGH

AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Primary rating from NVD · only source for this CVE.

CVSS VectorNVD

Attack Vector

Network

Attack Complexity

Low

Privileges Required

None

User Interaction

None

Scope

Unchanged

Confidentiality

None

Integrity

None

Availability

High

Lifecycle Timeline

CVSS changed

Jun 03, 2026 - 14:22 NVD

7.8 (HIGH) 7.5 (HIGH)

CVE Published

Jan 24, 2013 - 21:55 cve.org

HIGH 7.5

DescriptionCVE.org

The device does not properly validate the data being sent to the buffer. An attacker can send a malformed CIP packet to Port 2222/TCP, Port 2222/UDP, Port 44818/TCP, or Port 44818/UDP, which creates a buffer overflow and causes the NIC to crash. Successful exploitation of this vulnerability could cause loss of availability and a disruption in communications with other connected devices.

Rockwell Automation EtherNet/IP products; 1756-ENBT, 1756-EWEB, 1768-ENBT, and 1768-EWEB communication modules; CompactLogix L32E and L35E controllers; 1788-ENBT FLEXLogix adapter; 1794-AENTR FLEX I/O EtherNet/IP adapter; ControlLogix 18 and earlier; CompactLogix 18 and earlier; GuardLogix 18 and earlier; SoftLogix 18 and earlier; CompactLogix controllers 19 and earlier; SoftLogix controllers 19 and earlier; ControlLogix controllers 20 and earlier; GuardLogix controllers 20 and earlier; and MicroLogix 1100 and 1400

AnalysisAI

The device does not properly validate the data being sent to the buffer. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. Epss exploitation probability 13.4% and no vendor patch available.

Technical ContextAI

This vulnerability is classified as Buffer Overflow (CWE-119), which allows attackers to corrupt memory to execute arbitrary code or crash the application. The device does not properly validate the data being sent to the buffer. An attacker can send a malformed CIP packet to Port 2222/TCP, Port 2222/UDP, Port 44818/TCP, or Port 44818/UDP, which creates a buffer overflow and causes the NIC to crash. Successful exploitation of this vulnerability could cause loss of availability and a disruption in communications with other connected devices. Rockwell Automation EtherNet/IP products; 1756-ENBT, 1756-EWEB, 1768-ENBT, and 1768-EWEB communication modules; CompactLogix L32E and L35E controllers; 1788-ENBT FLEXLogix adapter; 1794-AENTR FLEX I/O EtherNet/IP adapter; ControlLogix 18 and earlier; CompactLogix 18 and earlier; GuardLogix 18 and earlier; SoftLogix 18 and earlier; CompactLogix controllers 19 and earlier; SoftLogix controllers 19 and earlier; ControlLogix controllers 20 and earlier; GuardLogix controllers 20 and earlier; and MicroLogix 1100 and 1400 Affected products include: Rockwellautomation Controllogix Controllers, Rockwellautomation Guardlogix Controllers, Rockwellautomation Micrologix, Rockwellautomation Softlogix Controllers, Rockwellautomation 1756-Enbt.

RemediationAI

No vendor patch is available at time of analysis. Monitor vendor advisories for updates. Use memory-safe languages or bounds-checking. Enable ASLR, DEP/NX, stack canaries. Use safe string functions.