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Public vulnerability disclosure

CVE-2021-27460

Rockwell Automation FactoryTalk AssetCentre Deserialization of Untrusted Data

publishedCWE-502

Rockwell Automation FactoryTalk AssetCentre v10.00 and earlier components contain .NET remoting endpoints that deserialize untrusted data without sufficiently verifying that the resulting data will be valid. This vulnerability may allow a remote, unauthenticated attacker to gain full access to the FactoryTalk AssetCentre main server and all agent machines.

Investigate in Cyber JSONMarkdown
Technical severity10.0 criticalCVSS 3.1 · CNA: icscert
Published2022-03-23Source updated 2026-06-17
Collected2026-11-013 attributed sources

Fixes and workarounds

Fix

Rockwell Automation encourages users of the affected versions of FactoryTalk AssetCentre to update to AssetCentre v11 (or above) to addresses these vulnerabilities. For more information about these vulnerabilities and mitigations please see Rockwell Automation’s publication KnowledgeBase ID: PN1559 As an additional mitigation, Rockwell Automation encourages users who are unable to upgrade or are concerned about unauthorized client connections to use built in security features found within FactoryTalk AssetCentre. Users should follow guidance found in QA46277. IPsec would minimize exposure to unauthorized clients and has been tested in FactoryTalk AssetCentre v9-v11

Source: CNA: icscert

Workaround

Rockwell Automation recommends the following software/PC-based mitigation strategies: Run all software as User, not as an Administrator, to minimize the impact of malicious code on the infected system. Use Microsoft AppLocker or other similar allow list applications to help mitigate risk. Information on using AppLocker with Rockwell Automation products is available at Knowledge Base Article QA17329 Ensure the least-privilege user principle is followed, and user/service account access to shared resources (such as a database) is only granted with a minimum number of rights as needed. Rockwell Automation recommends the following general mitigations: Use trusted software, software patches, antivirus/antimalware programs and interact only with trusted web sites and attachments. Minimize network exposure for all control system devices and/or systems and ensure they are not accessible from the Internet. For further information about the risks of unprotected Internet accessible control systems, please see Knowledgebase Article PN715 Locate control system networks and devices behind firewalls and isolate them from the business network. When remote access is required, use secure methods, such as virtual private networks (VPNs), recognizing that VPNs may have vulnerabilities and should be updated to the most current version available. Also recognize a VPN is only as secure as the connected devices.

Source: CNA: icscert

Affected products and versions

ProductVersionsAuthority
FactoryTalk AssetCentre
Rockwell Automation 		≤ v10.00 (affected, custom) CNA: icscert

Version ranges are source assertions. Check the vendor advisory and your installed configuration before determining exposure.

NVD applicability configurations (1)

These expressions retain AND/OR operators, negation, and required environmental products. A listed product is not sufficient to establish exposure when additional conditions apply.

[
  {
    "negate": false,
    "nodes": [
      {
        "cpeMatch": [
          {
            "criteria": "cpe:2.3:a:rockwellautomation:factorytalk_assetcentre:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*",
            "versionEndIncluding": "10.00",
            "vulnerable": true
          }
        ],
        "negate": false,
        "operator": "OR"
      }
    ],
    "operator": "OR"
  }
]

CVSS assessments

Version / scoreVectorAuthority
3.1 / 10.0
critical		 CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:N/A:HCNA: icscert
3.1 / 9.8
critical		 CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:HNVD: [email protected]
3.1 / 10.0
critical		 CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:N/A:HNVD: [email protected]
2.0 / 7.5
high		 AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:PNVD: [email protected]

Exploit evidence

No exploit evidence in collected sources. This is not proof of no exploitation.

References