Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
Certain WAGO industrial controllers can accept unauthenticated specially constructed requests that change device settings. For operational technology, that can disrupt processes or alter control behavior if an attacker can reach the affected device.
Executive priority
Treat as urgent for any affected controller reachable beyond a tightly controlled OT network. Prioritize internet-exposed, remotely accessible, or safety-critical deployments first.
Technical view
CVE-2020-12506 is CWE-306 improper authentication in WAGO 750-362, 750-363, 750-823, 750-832, 750-862, 750-891, and 750-890 variants running FW03 or earlier. CVSS 3.1 is 9.1: network reachable, low complexity, no privileges, no user interaction, with high integrity and availability impact.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely in industrial control networks using the listed WAGO 750-36X or 750-8XX devices on FW03 or earlier. Internet exposure or weak segmentation would materially increase urgency.
Exploitation context
The source bundle does not show CISA KEV listing or cited evidence of active exploitation. The risk remains serious because the weakness requires no authentication if the attacker can reach the affected device.
Researcher notes
The provided evidence identifies affected models, firmware boundary, vulnerability class, and CVSS vector. It does not provide exploit status, detailed protocol behavior, or exact remediation text beyond the referenced vendor advisory path.
Mitigation direction
- Inventory listed WAGO models and record exact firmware versions.
- Check WAGO and CERT VDE guidance for supported fixed firmware or replacement direction.
- Restrict device management access to trusted engineering networks only.
- Remove any direct internet exposure to affected controllers.
- Monitor for unauthorized configuration changes or unexpected device behavior.
Validation and detection
- Confirm whether any listed WAGO model runs FW03 or earlier.
- Verify affected devices are unreachable from untrusted networks.
- Review available logs or configuration history for unexplained settings changes.
- Recheck firmware and segmentation after remediation.
- Document exceptions where upgrade or replacement is not immediately possible.
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-306: Credential and account abuse lookup
Authentication and credential weaknesses can make valid-account abuse and credential telemetry useful review starting points. 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 lookupCredential and access behavior lookup
The CVE wording references authentication or credential exposure, so valid-account and credential-access review may help. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2020-12506 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
- Critical
- CVSS
- 9.1 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H
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 vector scores
1 official scoreWe collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H3.95.2Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
9.1CriticalVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://cert.vde.com/en-us/advisories/vde-2020-028CVE reference · x_refsource_CONFIRM
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.
Missing Authentication for Critical Function
Missing Authentication for Critical Function represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.