Severity by source
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:H/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:N/SC:H/SI:H/SA:H/E:U/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:P/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X
Network-accessible unauthenticated authentication endpoint (AV:N, PR:N); AC:H for timing precision required; S:C and I:H for traffic injection into connected network; no direct availability impact on StationScout itself.
Primary rating from Vendor (OMICRON).
CVSS VectorVendor: OMICRON
Lifecycle Timeline
3DescriptionCVE.org
OMICRON StationScout before version 3.05 contains a cryptographic timing side-channel vulnerability in the backend authentication mechanism that may allow an unauthenticated attacker to forge valid authentication credentials, bypass authentication and authorization, and impersonate legitimate clients. An attacker can gain full access to the system configuration, allowing modification, reset, or unauthorized alteration of system parameters or injecting network traffic into the connected network.
AnalysisAI
Cryptographic timing side-channel in OMICRON StationScout before version 3.05 allows unauthenticated network attackers to forge valid authentication credentials, bypass authentication and authorization entirely, and impersonate legitimate clients - granting full access to system configuration and the ability to inject traffic into the connected substation network. The CVSS 4.0 vector confirms unauthenticated remote exploitability (PR:N, AV:N) with high complexity (AC:H) reflecting the statistical measurement precision timing attacks require, and scope-change indicators (SC:H/SI:H/SA:H) capture downstream risk to connected OT systems. No public exploit has been identified at time of analysis, and the CVSS 4.0 supplemental metric E:U corroborates absence of confirmed exploitation.
Technical ContextAI
CWE-208 (Observable Timing Discrepancy) describes a class of implementation flaw in which cryptographic operations - typically secret-dependent comparisons such as HMAC verification, token validation, or password matching - execute in measurably non-constant time relative to the secret being compared. By submitting repeated authentication requests and performing statistical analysis on server response latencies, an attacker can iteratively recover or reconstruct the secret material and ultimately produce credentials the server accepts as authentic. The affected product, identified by CPE cpe:2.3:a:omicron_electronics_gmbh:omicron_stationscout:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* covering all versions before 3.05, is OMICRON StationScout - a specialized OT/ICS platform from OMICRON Electronics GmbH used in electrical substations for protection relay commissioning, testing, and network monitoring. The backend authentication mechanism lacks constant-time comparison, violating a foundational requirement of secure cryptographic design and making it measurably distinguishable across credential attempts.
RemediationAI
Vendor-released patch: version 3.05. Operators should upgrade OMICRON StationScout to version 3.05 or later as the primary remediation; details and release artifacts are available from OMICRON Electronics GmbH at https://www.omicronenergy.com/.well-known/csaf/osa-21.json. Where immediate patching is operationally infeasible, restrict network access to the StationScout management interface to explicitly trusted engineering workstations and management VLANs using perimeter firewall rules or network ACLs - this reduces but does not eliminate risk, as an attacker already within the trusted segment retains exploitation capability. Placing StationScout on an isolated management VLAN with no routing to untrusted networks is a stronger compensating control but may disrupt workflows that depend on broader network reachability. Monitoring authentication service logs for high volumes of repeated connection attempts with varying credential patterns may provide early detection of an in-progress timing attack. Compensating controls should be treated as temporary measures only - the root cause is in the authentication implementation and requires the vendor patch to resolve.
Same weakness CWE-208 – Observable Timing Discrepancy
View allSame technique Authentication Bypass
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External POC / Exploit Code
Leaving vuln.today
EUVD-2026-53923
GHSA-66qm-g96m-4843