CVE intelligence and bounded remediation

CVE-2023-2638 — Rockwell Automation's FactoryTalk System Services does not verify that a backup configuration archive is password protected

Medium CVSS 5.9

Rockwell Automation's FactoryTalk System Services does not verify that a backup configuration archive is password protected. Improper authorization in FTSSBackupRestore.exe may lead to the loading of malicious configuration archives. This vulnerability may allow a local, authenticated non-admin user to craft a malicious backup archive, without password protection, that will be loaded by FactoryTalk System Services as a valid backup when a restore procedure takes places. User interaction is required for this vulnerability to be successfully exploited.

Severity
Medium
CVSS
5.9 (3.1)
Published
2023-06-13
CISA KEV
Not currently listed
Ecosystem
software/application
Weaknesses
CWE-287

Affected products

  • rockwellautomation / factorytalk_policy_manager / 6.11.0
  • rockwellautomation / factorytalk_system_services / 6.11.0

Matched remediation archetype

Authentication bypass and missing authentication

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Check exposure

  • Map every affected endpoint and protocol path, including alternate ports, legacy routes, recovery flows, service accounts, and machine-to-machine access.
  • Confirm which deployments enable the affected authentication mode and whether the interface is reachable from untrusted networks.
  • Review session, token, credential, and proxy trust configuration without attempting account takeover.

Remediate safely

  • Apply the supported fix and centralize fail-closed authentication before protected request handling.
  • Remove default or embedded credentials, rotate affected secrets and sessions, and bind authentication decisions to the intended audience and channel.
  • Add negative tests for alternate routes, malformed or absent credentials, recovery flows, and proxy-derived identity.

Authoritative sources

Complete CVE record and remediation plan

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