Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
RSLinx Classic is software used to communicate with Rockwell industrial systems. In affected versions, a remote attacker could send malformed industrial network traffic that makes the application crash. The CVE also states a buffer overflow could potentially allow remote code execution, which raises business risk beyond downtime.
Executive priority
Treat this as high priority in OT environments because it can disrupt industrial communications and may enable remote code execution. Prioritize assets where RSLinx is reachable beyond tightly controlled engineering networks.
Technical view
CVE-2018-14829 affects Rockwell Automation RSLinx Classic 4.00.01 and prior. A malformed CIP packet sent to TCP port 44818 may cause the application to stop responding and crash. The record also describes a CWE-121 stack-based buffer overflow with potential remote arbitrary code execution.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely where RSLinx Classic is reachable on TCP/44818 from untrusted networks, flat OT networks, vendor access paths, or compromised IT segments. The bundle does not identify cloud exposure or internet-wide prevalence.
Exploitation context
The provided bundle does not show CISA KEV listing or cited evidence of active exploitation. The risk is remote network-triggered denial of service, with stated potential for arbitrary code execution if the buffer overflow is exploitable.
Researcher notes
Evidence is limited to the CVE description and referenced advisories in the bundle. No CVSS vector, exploit maturity, or fixed-version detail is provided here, so validation should focus on version exposure and network reachability.
Mitigation direction
- Inventory RSLinx Classic installations and identify versions 4.00.01 and prior.
- Check Rockwell and CISA advisory guidance for corrected versions and mitigations.
- Restrict TCP/44818 access to trusted industrial management hosts only.
- Segment engineering workstations and industrial control networks from general IT networks.
- Monitor for unexpected RSLinx crashes, restarts, or abnormal CIP traffic.
Validation and detection
- Confirm installed RSLinx Classic versions on engineering and operator workstations.
- Review firewall rules and ACLs for TCP/44818 reachability.
- Check whether RSLinx hosts are reachable from user, VPN, or vendor networks.
- Review logs for application crashes or abnormal communications around TCP/44818.
- Document compensating controls where affected versions cannot be immediately removed.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CWE-121: Exact CWE lookup
Use the exact CWE identifier as the starting point before reviewing related ATT&CK behavior. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupExecution behavior lookup
The CVE wording references code or command execution, so execution technique review may help defensive triage. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2018-14829 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- Unknown
- CVSS
- Not scored
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5
These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.
CVSS and timeline data
No CVSS vectors or timeline events were available in the normalized CVE source material.
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://ics-cert.us-cert.gov/advisories/ICSA-18-263-02CVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
- https://www.tenable.com/security/research/tra-2018-26CVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.
Stack-based Buffer Overflow
Stack-based Buffer Overflow represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.