CVE-2020-13238Network attack vector

Industrial process halt via crafted packet

Published Jun 10, 2020 · Updated Aug 4, 2024

Denial-of-service in MELSEC iQ-R Series PLC firmware 33 allows remote attackers to halt industrial processes via a crafted network packet. The Ethernet port consumes excessive CPU time when processing the unauthenticated packet, stopping the industrial process. Physical access to the PLC is required to restore production after the halt.

CVSS severity7.5
High
EPSS probability3.34%
Next 30 days · Sep 17, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Denial-of-service in MELSEC iQ-R Series PLC firmware 33 allows remote attackers to halt industrial processes via a crafted network packet. The Ethernet port consumes excessive CPU time when processing the unauthenticated packet, stopping the industrial process. Physical access to the PLC is required to restore production after the halt.

The record

CVE
CVE-2020-13238
Published
Jun 10, 2020
Updated
Aug 4, 2024
Vendor
Unknown vendor
Product
Unknown product
Classifications
CWE-400, T1499.001
Attack vector
network
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Jun 10, 2020CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 4, 2024Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Affected buildAffected product and version details are unavailable.

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

Affected products and versions are unavailable in this record.

Published CVSS scores

7.5NISTCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
7.8NISTAV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:C

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectornetwork
Privilegesunauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-400Uncontrolled Resource Consumption
T1499.001Endpoint Denial of Service

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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