Attack ChainAIDerived
Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain
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AccessObtain low-priv local access
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DeliveryDeliver malicious PCM600 project/import file
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ExploitUser opens file in PCM600
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ExecutionPath traversal escapes target directory
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ImpactOverwrite files outside intended path
Vulnerability Assessment
| Weakness |
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A01:2025 - Broken Access Control
ASVS 5.0
V5 - File Handling Path canonicalization, traversal prevention
MITRE ATT&CK
2 techniques across 2 tactics: Discovery, Collection The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up. |
| Exploitation Conditions | Requires local access to a host running ABB PCM600 (through version 2.14) with at least low-privilege authenticated access, plus user interaction: a legitimate operator must open or import an attacker-supplied malicious project/configuration/import file containing crafted traversal pathnames. Limiting factors per the CVSS vector are significant - AV:L rules out remote network exploitation, PR:L requires prior local foothold, and UI:R requires tricking an engineer into processing the malicious file; impact is confined to integrity (file overwrite/corruption) with no confidentiality or availability effect. This is engineering-workstation software used in electrical substation/utility environments, further limiting exposure to a small operator population. |
| Impact | This is a moderate, contained risk rather than a critical priority. The vendor-assigned CVSS 3.1 vector (5.0) is decisive: AV:L means the attacker must have local access to the machine running PCM600, AC:L/PR:L means low-privilege authenticated local access, and UI:R means a legitimate user must be tricked into an action (e.g., opening or importing a malicious file/project). Impact is narrow - C:N/I:H/A:N - so this is a write/overwrite-style path traversal affecting integrity only, with no data disclosure or denial of service. No EPSS score, no CISA KEV listing, and no public POC were provided, so exploitation is currently theoretical: no public exploit identified at time of analysis. SSVC-style reasoning: exploitation status = none observed, automatable = no (requires local access plus user interaction), technical impact = partial (integrity-only). The main tension is that a local + user-interaction + low-privilege vector is inherently hard to exploit at scale, which is consistent with the modest 5.0 score; there is no conflict between signals here. Bottom line: real but low-urgency - patch on normal maintenance cadence, not an emergency. |
| Exploit ScenarioDerived | An attacker crafts a malicious PCM600 project file, configuration package, or import artifact containing traversal sequences in an embedded pathname, then delivers it to a substation engineer. When the engineer opens or imports the file in PCM600 (through 2.14), the traversal writes attacker-controlled content to files outside the intended directory, corrupting or overwriting integrity-sensitive engineering data on the local host. No public exploit code is identified at time of analysis, and the attack requires the victim's interaction on a system where the attacker already has low-privilege local access. |
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Alert meAnalysisAIv1 – Sep 28, 2026
Path traversal in ABB Protection and Control IED Manager (PCM600) through version 2.14 allows a local, low-privileged attacker to overwrite or corrupt files on an engineering workstation by supplying a crafted project, configuration, or import file with manipulated pathnames. Exploitation requires the attacker to already have local access with at least low-privilege credentials (PR:L) and depends on user interaction (UI:R) - an engineer must open or import the malicious file - and impact is limited to integrity (C:N/I:H/A:N) with no confidentiality or availability effect, making this a moderate, contained risk rather than a critical priority. No public exploit code has been identified at time of analysis, and there is no confirmed active exploitation (CISA KEV) or EPSS score provided for this CVE.
RemediationAI
ABB has published advisory 2NGA003179 (https://search.abb.com/library/Download.aspx?DocumentID=2NGA003179&LanguageCode=en&DocumentPartId=pdf&Action=Launch) covering this issue; consult it for the exact fixed PCM600 version and upgrade from any 2.14-or-earlier installation accordingly, as no specific fix version number could be independently confirmed from the available data. Until the upgrade is applied, the most effective compensating control is procedural: prohibit opening or importing PCM600 project, configuration, or archive files from untrusted or unverified sources, and validate integrity (hash/signature) of project files received from third parties - the trade-off is added handling friction and the risk of blocking legitimate vendor-delivered configurations. Additional hardening includes running PCM600 under a dedicated low-privilege account with write access restricted to its own working directories (limits the set of files an overwrite can reach, but may break workflows that write to shared project paths), keeping backups or read-only media for critical configuration files so corrupted files can be restored (storage/administrative overhead), and restricting interactive logon on engineering workstations to authorized personnel so PR:L cannot be obtained by other local users. Application allow-listing and endpoint monitoring for anomalous file-write activity originating from PCM600 processes can provide detection, though these are detective rather than preventive controls.
Affected VersionsENISA
Affected Packages
Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)
Affects your stack
Affects 1 package in euvd
Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.
Technical ContextAI · show details
The vulnerability is a classic CWE-22 path traversal (improper limitation of a pathname to a restricted directory) in ABB PCM600, the engineering/configuration tool used to parameterize and manage protection and control IEDs in substation automation environments. Because PCM600 processes project archives, configuration imports, and related file-based artifacts supplied by operators, insufficient canonicalization and validation of embedded pathnames allows directory-traversal sequences to escape the intended working or extraction directory and target arbitrary files writable by the PCM600 process. The CPE entry cpe:2.3:a:abb:protection_and_control_ied_manager_(pcm600):* identifies PCM600 as the single affected product across all tracked versions through 2.14. The CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N vector confirms the attack surface is local to the host, requires an authenticated low-privilege foothold, and needs a victim operator to interact with the malicious file; scope remains unchanged and only file integrity is impacted, consistent with an overwrite/corruption primitive rather than code execution or data exfiltration.
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Severity by source
CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:P/PR:L/UI:A/VC:N/VI:H/VA:N/SC:N/SI:H/SA:N
Local desktop engineering tool requiring an authenticated user to open a malicious file, so AV:L/PR:L/UI:R; write-based traversal corrupts files giving I:H with no read (C:N) or availability (A:N) impact.
Primary rating from Vendor (ABB).
CVSS VectorVendor: ABB
Lifecycle Timeline
1DescriptionCVE.org
Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal') vulnerability in ABB Protection and control IED manager (PCM600).
This issue affects Protection and control IED manager (PCM600): through 2.14.
Threat Intelligence Overview
How this decision was reached
The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.
What every action level means
SSVC AssessmentENISA
Priority Score
Attack Technique
Path traversal exploits occur when applications use user-controlled input to construct file system paths without proper validation.
EUVD-2026-88254
GHSA-469j-4qv8-mjfp
NVD
CVE.org
EPSS
Vulnrichment
Exploit-DB