CVE-2021-22280

Cross-user code execution via planted malicious DLL

Published May 14, 2024 · Updated Aug 3, 2024

DLL hijacking in B&R Industrial Automation Automation Studio before 4.12 allows local users to execute code as another user. The DLL-loading logic accepts a malicious library placed on the target system and loads it when another user starts the application. Exploitation requires valid local credentials, access to place the DLL, and interaction by a second user, granting code execution with that user's privileges.

CVSS severity7.2
High
EPSS probability0.17%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

DLL hijacking in B&R Industrial Automation Automation Studio before 4.12 allows local users to execute code as another user. The DLL-loading logic accepts a malicious library placed on the target system and loads it when another user starts the application. Exploitation requires valid local credentials, access to place the DLL, and interaction by a second user, granting code execution with that user's privileges.

The record

CVE
CVE-2021-22280
Published
May 14, 2024
Updated
Aug 3, 2024
Vendor
B&R Industrial Automation
Product
Automation Studio
Classifications
CWE-20, CWE-427, CAPEC-38, T1574.001
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. May 14, 2024CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 3, 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?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=0 <4.12
  2. Affected versionversion=4.0 <4.12

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

B&R Industrial Automation · Automation Studioversion=0 <4.12; version=4.0 <4.12

Published CVSS scores

7.2Asea Brown Boveri Ltd. (ABB)CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:H/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H

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 9, 2026Sep 15, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 15, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-20Improper Input Validation
CWE-427Uncontrolled Search Path Element
CAPEC-38Leveraging/Manipulating Configuration File Search Paths
T1574.001Hijack Execution Flow: DLL

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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