Severity by source
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:L/VI:L/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/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
Network-reachable and unauthenticated at the OCPP layer (PR:N) but requires first bypassing a firewall to control the backend, raising complexity to AC:H; command injection interrupts charging so A:H with limited C/I as charx-oa.
Primary rating from Vendor (cert).
CVSS VectorVendor: cert
Lifecycle Timeline
3DescriptionCVE.org
This vulnerability allows an unauthenticated remote attacker with control over the OCPP backend via firewall-bypass to perform an OS command injection, resulting in the execution of arbitrary commands as the limited user charx-oa. Charging could be interrupted.
AnalysisAI
OS command injection in Phoenix Contact CHARX SEC EV charging controllers allows an unauthenticated remote attacker who controls the OCPP backend (reached via a firewall-bypass) to execute arbitrary commands as the limited charx-oa user, potentially interrupting vehicle charging. It affects CHARX SEC-3000, SEC-3100, SEC-3050 and SEC-3150 versions 1.0.0 up to but not including 1.9.1, and is fixed in 1.9.1. There is no public exploit identified at time of analysis, and the CVSS 4.0 base score is 8.8 (High).
Technical ContextAI
The affected devices are CHARX SEC series charging controllers used to manage AC/DC electric-vehicle charging stations, which communicate with a central management system using the Open Charge Point Protocol (OCPP), the standard WebSocket/SOAP-based backend protocol for EV charge points. The root cause is CWE-78 (Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command), meaning data received over the OCPP channel is passed into a system shell without adequate sanitization, allowing crafted input to break out into shell command execution. Commands run in the context of the limited service account charx-oa rather than root, which constrains but does not eliminate impact.
RemediationAI
Vendor-released patch: upgrade all affected CHARX SEC-3000, SEC-3100, SEC-3050 and SEC-3150 devices to firmware version 1.9.1 or later, as described in the CERT@VDE advisory VDE-2026-008 (https://www.certvde.com/en/advisories/VDE-2026-008/). Because exploitation requires the attacker to reach and control the OCPP backend by bypassing a firewall, the primary compensating control until patching is to harden network segmentation so the charge controller only accepts OCPP connections from the trusted, authenticated management backend - restrict inbound OCPP (WebSocket) reachability with strict allow-lists and verify the firewall bypass path referenced in the advisory is closed, at the cost of ensuring legitimate backend connectivity is not disrupted. Enforcing TLS with backend certificate validation on the OCPP channel further reduces the risk of an untrusted party impersonating the backend.
Same weakness CWE-78 – OS Command Injection
View allSame technique Command Injection
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External POC / Exploit Code
Leaving vuln.today
EUVD-2026-51033
GHSA-c6hj-8gx4-32qh