Attack ChainAIDerived
Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain
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AccessIdentify exposed Chargeportal endpoint
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DeliveryEstablish WebSocket connections
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ExploitFlood authentication endpoint
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ExecutionExhaust server resources
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ImpactDisrupt telemetry processing
Vulnerability Assessment
| Weakness |
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A07:2025 - Authentication Failures
ASVS 5.0
V6 - Authentication Brute-force prevention, rate limiting
|
| Exploitation Conditions | Remote unauthenticated exploitation against default configurations of CTEK Chargeportal where the WebSocket API endpoint is network-accessible (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N). No special authentication, user interaction, or non-default settings required to launch denial-of-service attacks. Successful brute-force authentication attacks require that valid user accounts exist with guessable credentials. Exploitation is limited to environments where Chargeportal's WebSocket interface is reachable from the attacker's network position - rate limiting effectiveness depends on whether the platform is internet-facing (higher risk) versus isolated on internal OT networks (lower risk). The CVSS vector confirms no attack complexity barriers beyond basic network connectivity. |
| Impact | Real-world risk assessment reveals moderate priority despite high CVSS 8.7. CVSS vector indicates straightforward remote exploitation (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N) with high availability impact (VA:H), consistent with DoS potential. However, EPSS score of 0.08% (23rd percentile) suggests low attacker interest, likely due to the narrow target base (EV charging infrastructure operators using CTEK systems). CISA SSVC framework marks this as automatable with partial technical impact and no confirmed exploitation - indicating theoretical risk rather than imminent threat. The dual-use nature (DoS vs. credential brute-force) creates differing risk profiles: DoS attacks are trivially automatable but only disrupt telemetry visibility rather than compromising chargers themselves; brute-force attacks require valid credentials to exist and weak passwords to succeed. CISA ICS-CERT involvement elevates concern for critical infrastructure operators, but absence from CISA KEV and low EPSS suggest this is not being actively exploited in the wild. Priority should focus on environments where charging infrastructure availability is operationally critical or where weak authentication credentials may exist. |
| Exploit ScenarioDerived | An attacker identifies a CTEK Chargeportal instance exposed to the internet via reconnaissance of charging network infrastructure. They script automated WebSocket connection attempts to the authentication endpoint, flooding the server with thousands of concurrent authentication requests. This exhausts server resources (CPU, memory, connection pools), causing legitimate charger telemetry to be delayed or dropped, creating blind spots in charging network monitoring. Alternatively, the attacker enumerates common usernames and attempts credential brute-forcing with no throttling, potentially gaining administrative access to manage charging infrastructure if weak passwords exist. |
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Alert meAnalysisAIv2 – May 06, 2026
Missing rate limiting in CTEK Chargeportal's WebSocket API enables remote attackers to launch denial-of-service attacks against electric vehicle charging infrastructure telemetry or conduct brute-force authentication attacks. All versions of Chargeportal are affected. CISA ICS-CERT has issued an advisory (ICSA-26-078-06), indicating focus on critical infrastructure risk. EPSS exploitation probability is low (0.08%, 23rd percentile), and no active exploitation or public exploit is confirmed. SSVC assessment indicates the vulnerability is automatable but has no confirmed exploitation, suggesting moderate real-world urgency despite the high CVSS 8.7 score.
Earlier versions of this analysis (1)
The CTEK ChargePortal WebSocket API contains a critical rate limiting vulnerability that permits unlimited authentication attempts. This flaw enables attackers to either launch denial-of-service attacks by overwhelming the system with authentication requests that suppress legitimate charger telemetry data, or conduct brute-force attacks to compromise user credentials and gain unauthorized system access. With a CVSS score of 7.5 and network-based attack vector requiring no privileges, this poses significant risk to electric vehicle charging infrastructure operators.
RemediationAI
No vendor-released patch version is identified in available data at time of analysis. Operators should immediately contact CTEK support (https://www.ctek.com/support) for product-specific remediation guidance and monitor CISA advisory ICSA-26-078-06 (https://www.cisa.gov/news-events/ics-advisories/icsa-26-078-06) for updates. Compensating controls to implement immediately: (1) Deploy reverse proxy or web application firewall with WebSocket-aware rate limiting (e.g., limit authentication attempts to 5 per IP per minute; may impact legitimate reconnection scenarios for unstable networks). (2) Restrict WebSocket endpoint access to trusted IP ranges using network ACLs or firewall rules (eliminates remote attack surface but requires static IP addressing for administrators). (3) Enforce strong password policies and enable multi-factor authentication if supported by Chargeportal (reduces brute-force attack success but does not prevent DoS). (4) Monitor authentication logs for patterns of repeated failures or connection floods (detection only; does not prevent exploitation). Note that rate limiting at reverse proxy level may interfere with legitimate high-frequency telemetry updates; test in non-production environment before deployment.
Affected VersionsENISA
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Technical ContextAI · show details
This vulnerability affects CTEK's Chargeportal (CPE: cpe:2.3:a:ctek:chargeportal), a web-based platform for managing electric vehicle charging stations. The flaw exists in the WebSocket API implementation, which uses persistent bidirectional communication channels for real-time charger telemetry and control. CWE-307 (Improper Restriction of Excessive Authentication Attempts) identifies the root cause: the API accepts unlimited authentication requests without throttling, back-off mechanisms, or account lockout policies. WebSocket connections bypass traditional HTTP rate-limiting controls (which operate at request level), making application-layer rate limiting essential. The absence of such controls creates two attack surfaces: resource exhaustion through connection flooding (DoS) and credential enumeration through unlimited authentication attempts. The CVSS 4.0 vector (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N) confirms this is a remotely exploitable design flaw requiring no special privileges or complex setup.
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Severity by source
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
Primary rating from NVD · only source for this CVE.
CVSS VectorNVD
Lifecycle Timeline
3DescriptionCVE.org
The WebSocket Application Programming Interface lacks restrictions on the number of authentication requests. This absence of rate limiting may allow an attacker to conduct denial-of-service attacks by suppressing or mis-routing legitimate charger telemetry, or conduct brute-force attacks to gain unauthorized access.
Executive ViewAI
CTEK Chargeportal's missing WebSocket API rate limiting (CVE-2026-31904, CVSS 8.7) exposes electric vehicle charging infrastructure to denial-of-service and brute-force authentication attacks across all product versions. This vulnerability affects critical infrastructure operations and charging availability; CISA has issued an advisory recognizing the infrastructure risk, requiring immediate mitigation despite current low exploitation probability.
No vendor-released patch identified at time of analysis. Interim mitigations: (1) Implement rate limiting at reverse proxy or WAF for WebSocket endpoints to restrict request frequency per source IP; (2) Deploy network-level DDoS protection services; (3) Restrict WebSocket API access to known, trusted IP ranges via firewall rules; (4) Enable robust authentication logging and real-time anomaly alerting for brute-force patterns; (5) Monitor charging service availability metrics for unexpected degradation.
Threat Intelligence Overview
How this decision was reached
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What every action level means
SSVC AssessmentENISA
Priority Score
Attack Technique
Authentication bypass attacks exploit flaws in the verification mechanisms that control access to systems and applications.
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NVD
CVE.org
EPSS
Vulnrichment
GitHub
VulDB
Exploit-DB