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CVE-2024-12371 Rockwell Automation CVE debrief

A critical device takeover vulnerability in Rockwell Automation PowerMonitor 1000 series devices allows unauthenticated attackers to create a Policyholder user—the most privileged account—via API calls. This grants complete device control including administrative user creation and factory reset capabilities. The vulnerability affects 14 product variants running firmware versions prior to 4.020. CISA published this advisory on December 17, 2024.

Vendor
Rockwell Automation
Product
PM1k 1408-BC3A-485
CVSS
CRITICAL 9.8
CISA KEV
Not listed in stored evidence
Original CVE published
2024-12-17
Original CVE updated
2024-12-17
Advisory published
2024-12-17
Advisory updated
2024-12-17

Who should care

Organizations operating Rockwell Automation PowerMonitor 1000 series energy monitoring devices in industrial environments, particularly those with devices exposed to operational technology networks or with remote management capabilities enabled. Critical infrastructure operators in energy, manufacturing, and water sectors using these devices for power quality monitoring should prioritize assessment and remediation.

Technical summary

The vulnerability exists in the API implementation of affected PowerMonitor 1000 devices. An unauthenticated attacker can send API requests to create a new Policyholder user account without presenting valid credentials. The Policyholder role possesses maximum privileges including edit operations, creation of additional administrative users, and execution of factory reset commands. This represents a complete authentication bypass with immediate full device compromise. The attack requires network access to the device's API endpoints but no user interaction or prior authentication. All 14 affected product variants share the same underlying firmware vulnerability resolved in version 4.020.

Defensive priority

CRITICAL

Recommended defensive actions

  • Upgrade affected PowerMonitor 1000 devices to firmware version 4.020 or later immediately
  • Apply network segmentation to isolate affected devices from untrusted networks
  • Implement access control lists restricting API endpoint access to authorized management hosts
  • Monitor for unauthorized user account creation events on affected devices
  • Review device configurations for unexpected Policyholder or administrative accounts
  • Apply CISA ICS recommended practices for defense-in-depth where immediate patching is not feasible

Evidence notes

CISA CSAF advisory ICSA-24-352-03 confirms unauthenticated API access enables Policyholder user creation with full device control privileges. CVSS 3.1 score of 9.8 reflects network attack vector with no privileges required and high impact across confidentiality, integrity, and availability.

Sources and references

Verified primary and authoritative sources

  • CVE-2024-12371 CVE Program record

    Publisher, destination, and source semantics verified

    URL: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2024-12371

    CVE Program - Official CVE Program record with source-provided CVE metadata.

  • CVE-2024-12371 NVD vulnerability detail

    Publisher, destination, and source semantics verified

    URL: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-12371

    NIST National Vulnerability Database - Official NIST NVD detail page and source-specific vulnerability assessment.

Supplemental references

  • Source item URL

    Unverified legacy reference

    URL: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/cisagov/CSAF/develop/csaf_files/OT/white/2024/icsa-24-352-03.json

    cisa_csaf

  • Source reference

    Unverified legacy reference

    URL: https://www.cisa.gov/news-events/ics-advisories/icsa-24-352-03

    Reference

  • Source reference

    Unverified legacy reference

    URL: https://www.cisa.gov/uscert/ics/alerts/ICS-ALERT-10-301-01

    Reference

  • Source reference

    Unverified legacy reference

    URL: https://www.cisa.gov/resources-tools/resources/ics-recommended-practices

    Reference

  • Source reference

    Unverified legacy reference

    URL: https://www.cisa.gov/sites/default/files/publications/Cybersecurity_Best_Practices_for_Industrial_Control_Systems.pdf

    Reference

  • Source reference

    Unverified legacy reference

    URL: https://www.cisa.gov/topics/industrial-control-systems

    Reference

  • Source reference

    Unverified legacy reference

    URL: https://us-cert.cisa.gov/sites/default/files/recommended_practices/NCCIC_ICS-CERT_Defense_in_Depth_2016_S508C.pdf

    Reference

  • Source reference

    Unverified legacy reference

    URL: https://www.cisa.gov/uscert/ics/tips/ICS-TIP-12-146-01B

    Reference

Methodology and review provenance

AI-assisted synthesis based on stored public vulnerability evidence. System validation, approval state, and publication status do not by themselves establish human review of this revision. PatchSiren helps prioritize defensive review and does not prove exposure or remediation on any system.