CVE-2022-30265 Emerson CVE debrief

Who should care

Industrial control system operators, OT security engineers, and asset owners using Emerson PACSystem PLCs in manufacturing, energy, water/wastewater, and critical infrastructure environments should prioritize this vulnerability. Organizations with remote or shared engineering access, limited physical security controls, or compliance requirements for control system integrity (NERC CIP, IEC 62443) face elevated risk. Security teams should coordinate with plant engineers to assess exposure and implement compensating controls where patching is constrained by operational requirements.

Technical summary

The vulnerability exists because control logic downloaded to Emerson PACSystem PLCs—including PAC Machine Edition, RX3i, RSTi-EP, and VersaMax product lines—is not cryptographically authenticated. This applies to logic implemented in IEC 61131-3 standard languages (Ladder Diagram, Structured Text, Function Block Diagram, Instruction List, Sequential Function Chart) as well as C-language implementations compiled to ELF binary blocks. An attacker with local access to the engineering workstation and high-privilege credentials could modify and download malicious control logic without cryptographic verification by the PLC. The CVSS 3.1 vector (AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N) reflects this local attack scenario with no confidentiality or availability impact but high integrity impact. The vulnerability does not affect confidentiality or availability of the PLC, but compromises the integrity of control logic execution.

Defensive priority

medium

Recommended defensive actions

• Implement strict physical and personnel security controls per vendor guidance to prevent unauthorized local access to engineering workstations and PLCs
• Deploy network segmentation to isolate control system networks from enterprise IT infrastructure
• Disable unnecessary Ethernet services on affected PLCs per vendor documentation
• Ensure SRP6-a authentication is enabled where available; if not available, follow vendor reference architecture recommendations
• Apply defense-in-depth strategies including monitoring for unauthorized logic downloads and anomalous PLC behavior
• Review and implement CISA ICS recommended practices for industrial control system security
• Establish secure login procedures and enforce least-privilege access for engineering personnel
• Maintain offline backups of verified control logic to enable rapid restoration if unauthorized modifications are detected

Evidence notes

CISA ICS advisory ICSA-24-158-01 documents that control logic downloaded to affected PLCs lacks cryptographic authentication, regardless of whether implemented in IEC 61131-3 languages or as C-based ELF binary blocks. The advisory was published June 6, 2024, with initial revision history confirming this date.

Official resources